Ben Lippen AlumniGuestbook

We would love it if you would click here to add your Alumni update to this guestbook we are keeping! Because of spam advertisements, the information you enter will be stored, and your entries will be updated manually. I will process new entries as soon as I can!

I am Margaret Anne Alexander Bell - "Peggy," with deep roots in Asheville. Ben Lippen played a very important part in my life! When thirteen I was invited to parties on the school campus planned and chaperoned by BLBS faculty and Columbia students. They were well-planned fun evenings. Then, when fifteen I met a very special BLBS student, Benjamin Clayton Bell (son of Dr. and Mrs. L. Nelson Bell of Virginia, China and Montreat, N C.), at the church I attended in Asheville. He invited me to a bonfire to celebrate the first football game of the season and thereafter I attended all kinds of wonderful events as his guest. Upon graduation from Wheaton College, Clayton and I married, he graduated from Columbia Seminary and served faithfully in the Presbyterian Church US and USA with his last call being Senior Pastor of the Highland Park Presbyerian Church in Dallas, Texas. His first Sunday (1973) in the HPPC pulpit when he looked out over his new congregation who should be there but former BLBS Coach Pat Patterson and his wife, Hilda! He was always "Coach", to my husband. The Pattersons were faithful members and friends until their death. My husband, the Reverend Dr. B. Clayton Bell, Sr., died in July 2000.

Another note: As a junior high student I attended the Ben Lippen camp and in my teens worked with many young people at Ben Lippen's summer conference. It was a great experience affording me the opportunity to serve and meet many wonderful people as I assumed some responsibility on junior staff at The Conference Inn. I am very grateful for the vision of Ben Lippen as well as the ministry the camp, school and conference center had.

Nell's birthday was Sunday October 9 (10/09/24 = 87!).
I emailed her on Saturday Oct 8, and called a few days later, but did not hear back.
I called Polly Elniff who was planning to pay her a birthday visit.
Polly discovered that she was moved to the skilled nursing care unit because of sciatic nerve pain.

She seems to be discouraged. It would be great if many of us could send her a birthday card or a note.
I am sure Polly will make sure she gets it. Polly plans to be in touch with her.

Miss Nell Harden
14 Wesley Drive, Villa C
Asheville, NC 28803

In His care,
Eileen

[ If anyone wants Miss Harden's new cell phone number, please email or facebook message me,
and I will send it to you! --Becky ]

Graduated CBC in 1974, Western Carolina (PE) in 76.
Taught PE, coached and was an Athletic Director for 31 years in Christian Schools/colleges. Met my wife Gail at Calvert Christan School (MD) 3 children, one grandchild, and the 2nd due in August. Retired from from Mt. Calavry Christian School in Elizabethtown, PA 3 years ago, now driving for Milton Hershey School in Hershey PA. Living in Mount Joy, PA. with my wife's folks in a 55+ community.
You can find on Facebook

So awesome to read the testimonies here. It brings back memories of some chapels where we would do the same. Long trips in the bus for soccer games or choir... so how do you catch up after 41 years?
Amazing that a friend sent me to this page right after I finished up loading 176 BL pictures to an album dedicated to Ben Lippen on my Facebook. This would be the easiest way to tell the story. You are welcome to "friend request" me and let me know you are from BL.
I met my wife, Marian, while serving in Colombia with TEAM. She was from Australia and serving with WEC. We were married in 1980 and have raised 3 awesome God-loving kids.
31 years later we are still in the same type of ministry to the Spanish-speaking. Now with www.crmleaders.org and preparing leaders in the Portland, OR area.
Getting to reunions was always prohibitive due to living in Colombia, Venezuela or Australia and now diagnonally opposite side of the country. Hopefully, I can get in contact with some of the guys who left their info here 14 years ago. You are welcome to contact me at 503-475-4263 (cell)
Looking fwd to rekindling some friendships, Ben

I went from Ben Lippen to Clearwater Christian College, HCC, and then USF. I have an AA in Liberal Arts, a BA in American Studies, and a diploma in Medical Assisting. I got married shortly after USF's graduation (1991).

Ask me the details off-line, but the divorce was finalized in Jan. 2003.

Right now, I'm working at a Messianic congregation where I attend in Tampa. I am the Administrative Office Assistant, but in addition to that, I run the PR ministry. I also am the Media Relations Coordinator for the Tampa Bay Committee to Bless Israel. Occasionally, I sing. Believe it or not, I teach a Kay Arthur Bible study!

Lately I've been struggling. My mom's health is declining; she has CHF, and this may be her last year; in addition, the kids can be hard to manage (ages 11 & 16). I have some deep emotions. Being alone can really hurt sometimes, like today, but I'm hanging in there for the kids. (Besides it's better to be single, than to be married... and wish you were.) (Some of you guys will have to read that twice...) I do need prayer, guidance, and new direction. I don't know if this is the venue to ask for it... probably not :)

Like everybody else, different teachers and memories and fellow students stick out in my mind... the most important thing I took with me from Ben Lippen is my relationship with God... the phrase: it's not a religion: it's a relationship.

Blessings to you all.

If you ever see Betty Gerowe, Skip Midkiff, Lisa Walbridge, or Kjersti Torres, please tell them 'hi' for me. I think I'm connected to a lot of folks on Facebook... encourage them to sign up!

Hello again ... I'm alive and well ... my children are growing ... Karen is more beautiful than ever ... I'm still "repaying my debt" to former professors and teachers by being the best professor I can be ... still writing and learning (life-long pursuit) ... I think I'll just continue to live forever!

it is so good to read about my old classmates. ben lippen was a special place for me (even thoguh it was a bit of a culture shock). it was where my spiritual life grew and became permanent. i am a medical doctor working as a hospital administrator in a private hospital in lagos, nigeria. my twin (yusufu dankaro) lives in california with his loely wife. i have 3 children (2 boys and a girl). i would love to hear from betsy and caroline okumu.

What a surprise to come across this guestbook! I was actually trying to find a way to contact Vance Shepperson as I had heard via Martha Rajnoor Prysock that he and his wife were selling their home and moving to India. I guess that country just couldn't get along any more without Martha ... so here comes Vance to set them all straight! I hope you read this, Vance, and let us know what's happening!

Speaking of old classmates, it must be age or something, but I have been feeling decidely nostalgic in these past few years and as our class reunion draws nigh, I'm wondering where all of you are from the CLASS OF 1969?? I especially want to find Ruth Peasland (Baglietto). Any clues out there?

I'm definitely not musical, but a certain refrain keeps drifting through my mind ..."The path that I have trod has brought me closer God..." My deep heartfelt thanks to Dr. Fortosis for what he taught us through his life, his committment to a good God in the midst of a pain-filled world and as he challenged us that we sing that song with integrity being willing to walk whatever path God chooses for us in order to know Him better.

My path has not been easy, but I can rejoice from the bottom of my heart that God chose it for me because through the suffering I've experienced in this life, I have come to know God's very heart in a way that I never would have otherwise. Without loss and pain, how would I ever have come to known His grace and compassion?

The journey we have been on together has included mountain top experiences (literally and spiritually) with Navajos, Sioux, and Apaches; living in a Hoghan and herding sheep; studying at Moody Bible Institute, working with Hispanics and Native Americans in Chicago, escaping the sequellae of a broken marriage by taking refuge in North Dakota with my two children; Little House on the Praire experiences (trudging through snow, chopping the ice away from the door to get out); enjoying the good farm folk of North Dakota; moving back to Columbia as asthma surfaced; meeting and marrying my authentic southern husband, Bruce, whom I met in Awana at our church, (who introduced me to kayaking and okra); raising 3 kids in the South (Jonathan - the absolutely best carpenter around, Sara - the best sheriff deputy I know of & the fastest gun in the South - and Meaghan -- the sweetest thing on the face of this earth); backpacking whenever I can find someone to go with me; and last but certainly not least, re-discovering the Scriptures through Jewish eyes (Hebraic roots) and falling in love with "the apple of God's eye," the Jewish people which was futher enhanced by serving with Bruce and later our two daughters in the Negev in Israel (right near K'desh Barnea). We are so thankful for the new work God is doing in our "old" hearts as He continues to burden us for Israel, those wonderful called out ones to whom we owe our Scriptures (Old and New) and much, much more!

Well, I better stop. I'm so afraid that I'm going to hit the wrong key, and I will lose it all!

This is Ana, you might remember me as Anita. Class of '88.
Over the last 21 years the Lord has been so good to me.
Right after i left Ben Lippen, I attended college in Dallas, TX., on my second year there I met my husband and got married the summer of '90.
My husband, Matt, has always been an entreprenour; we, therefore, traveled from California to North Carolina on the very 1st couple of years and finally settling down in Arkansas.
Since then we've had 3 children. Amanda 12, Athena 9, and Aaron 5. I have been so blessed to be able to stay at home and be a full time mom...I am also homeschooling them.
Our life is crazy, fun and full of love; would not change any of it for the world. :)
My highschool memories are full of great times, thanks to many of you who extended a friendship to me. It has been CRAZY!! to be able to find you through FB and actually be able to share in to your lives now.
God bless you,
ana

Hey Becky, guess it is time I updated my info. I just saw the page for Bruce Short. He was my roommate my senior year and I don't mind telling you that I miss him.

I am still serving in Christian Camping at New Life Bible Camp. On April 23rd, I will start my 20th year, which ain't too bad considering I was originally invited to help out at the camp for a couple weeks on a few construction projects. I still play guitar and write songs. I have a CD that is out entitled, "The Long Journey Home." It is only available through the camp. I have been working on a new project that I am calling "Life After Lodebar." It will be about a year before I will be done with it. Music info can be found at www.andersonmaples.com.

It took me over 30 years, but I can finally say that I am a college graduate. I received a Bachelors in Theology from Trinity College and Seminary in 2003 and I am currently working on a Masters online.

I was eating lunch last week at a camp down the road from where I live. I heard someone mention Ben Lippon at another table, and there sat David Spode's younger sister Paula. Small world. Hope all is going well with you.

Nice to read about some of you all...I live in Black Mountain outside of Asheville, NC....I work with individuals with disabilities...I'm married to my wife....She's a nurse....I went to school at Gordon College in Mass. I love gardening, raising chickens and rabbits (for food), and running as many marathons as I can.

I wish to find contact with Mahito Takada and Matt Quinton if anyone has any info...

Wow! so glad to find this!! I would love to hear from some old classmates - especially trying to locate any info. on Jonathan Brown (his e-mail on these postings is no longer valid) and CECI (Cecliia Munuzuri). I have enjoyed reading people's entries and am slowing contacting people.

My husband and I and our 4 (yes, FOUR) kids live in Waynesville, N.C. I moved all over after high school and was a child abuse social worker for 12 years. Now I am a stay-home mom (what an oxymoron!), part-time social worker and part-time grad student working on my M.A.Ed. to be a school counselor (need to be on the same schedule as the kiddos - plus, I love counseling).

Oh, my kids are 2 girls, ages almost 12 and 10 and 2 boys, ages 8 and 3. My hubs is an investigator with the DA office. We are very active in our church, Long's Chapel United Methodist at beautiful Lake Junaluska. Life is good!!!

Wow!Am I behind, just sent this from my brother,Jim (BLS class of 67) It was great to catch up on classmates from BL.
After graduation from Ben Lippen, I moved to NJ and went to Monmouth University. I met my husband, David, of 33 years. After graduation I moved to Long Island and the rest is history! We have three adult children: Matthew 28 living in Vermont. Beth 25 is a short term missionary in Korea where she teaches reading and special education.
Our youngest, Emily, 18, is a freshman in college.
I work as a school nurse and also for the area community hospital. I would love to hear from any of my classmates from the class of '72.
In His Love,
Becki

I went to Prairie Bible Institute after BL on a 3 yr program, but was drafted after my second year. After the Army and a year in Vietnam, I went to GA State Univ, majoring in accounting. I worked for Price Waterhouse for a couple years and another firm, leaving when it merged with KPMG. For 3 years I worked in internal auditing for a Fortune 500 company that is now defunct.

For the next 9 years, I worked as controller for an architectural firm, chemical manufacturing firm, and as administrator for a law firm. A friend in missions convinced me to put my audit, financial, and human resource experience to work doing audits for and consulting with the boards of Christian ministries.

In a sense, I have come full circle, since I attended Prairie with the expectation of being a missionary. However, while there and following a summer as an assistant pastor, I did not feel a specific call to either a specific mission field or medicine, despite having grown up believing I would become a medical missionary. I came to realize that was primarily "parent tapes" and the expectations from my family and environmnet, not God's call.

Since opening my CPA practice, I have audited and worked with over 40 ministries all over the country, and it as been wonderful seeing all the ways God calls people to Himself. I had to close the practice in 2005, after being diagosed in 2000 with A1AD, a genetic liver disorder.

I have had two liver transplants and the second is not doing well. I have had rejection episodes and the anti-rejection meds are as high as when I left the hospital. We are thankful for what God has given us, for without the transplants, we would not have had the last 2 years together. The road hasn't been nearly as difficult as it is for many with cancer and other diseases. I can attest that there are wonderful lessons that do not seem to be learned any other way than thru chronic pain and literal complete and utter dependence on Him for your very life.

Sharon and I have had 25 wonderful years together. We have a blended family, and raised 3 terrific daughters. There are 5 grandchildren; 4 boys and a girl. All are terrific, although you all probably think yours are too!

It has been great reading your comments and finding out how and what you have been doing. My greetings to you all.
David

Hi Everybody, and a special "hello" to my classmates of 1977. I have a simple life here in Houston with no wife, no kids, no pets. During the day I sell insurance, and in the evening I go jogging, lift weights, or watch TV. Recently I got a DVR, so now my retinas are burnt out from watching so much television. Living in a state that borders Mexico, I really wish I had paid more attention in Mr. Jackson's spanish class at BL. It would have helped me now. I have no ambitions and am enjoying the peace and quiet around here, and am still grateful that I don't have to do a domestic chore in the morning or be at class by 8:00 a.m. I hope that my classmates are leading interesting lives, and I wish them all well. Maybe I can make it to our 40th class reunion, if I live that long.

My Wife Lynne and I have been married for going on 22 years. We have three great kids that Lynne has homeschooled there whole life. My oldest is now attending Troy University, while the other two still have a few years to go. I work as a crash resque fire fighter for the federal gov. at Ft. Rucker. We homestead on a few acres near Clayton Al where we have a larg garden and raise a few animals. Life is Great, God is Good, His blessings continue forever. We look to Him for everything. God bless you all. BoB

After graduating in '88 from BLS, I went to King College for a year in '89, and really went wayward in every area of my life. I was truly the prodigal son, and it was an unqualified disaster of a year. I had a terrible motorcycle wreck the summer after my freshman year, tore up my shoulder, had a compound fracture of my clavicle, and tore my elbow up severely. Lots of critical care/surgeries and hospital time. It was a nightmare of a time for my parents, not to mention me. I went to work at a local cotton mill for about 6 months to regroup and heal, then moved down to Atlanta in December '89, and earned my degree in Visual Communications at the Art Institute of Atlanta in '92. Unfortunately, those were more VERY wayward years of rebellion, despite doing well in school. Upon graduating. I immediately got a job at Network Communications, Inc. (publishers of the Real Estate Book and Apartment Finder magazines), as a graphic designer. I worked my way up through the ranks into management over my 12.5 years there, along the way, moving from the advertising side of the house into the IT division. In 1993, I met my wife Trina, who worked there, and we dated for a year, then were married in September, 1994. Our oldest daughter Lindsey was born in 1998. In 2000, our youngest daughter, Madison, was born; and in 2003, our one and only son was born - his name is Evan (which means "God has remembered me" - after having grown up with 7 full/step/half sisters and then two daughters!).

I really (and finally) had a major life-transforming experience in 2002, through immersing myself in Henry Blackaby's "Experiencing God". I was so blown away by God's love, and by the simple fact that if I wanted to realize what God's plan was for me, all I had to do was look around me, see where He was at work, and get right smack in the middle of it. I didn't have to wait for a calling, but only to join Him at work around me. Life has never been the same, since.

In early 2005, I joined Intellinet, which is a privately (Christian-owned) Microsoft-oriented technology consulting firm of about 100 people in Atlanta, GA as a project manager. I have grown tremendously since joining the firm, and am now a partner and VP of Operations there.

I am forever grateful for the life and experiences God has given me. I have been deeply blessed over the years - He has been faithful - protecting me when I was so far apart from him all those years. I am blessed with great health, a beautiful wife and strong marriage of over 14 years, three wonderful children, and a very satisfying career and ministry at work and through our church, which is developing young adults into mature and fruitful young business professionals, guided by Jesus as our source of grace and THE example to young professionals for how to be a shining light in the darkness of today's business world.

God Bless all of you, be well and stay in touch - I promise I'll do better at it myself!

Hi Everyone, i just stumbled upon this guestbook and exicted to see some familiar names!! I am living in Houston and married w/two beautiful twin girls (almost 2 yrs old!)! I would love to connect with some folks from the class of 1991, so please shoot me emails! contact information is kopaczda@cdm.com and you can find me on www.myspace.com/donnettekopacz.

I wanted to update my info a little bit....
We had a baby boy Samuel since I last was on this site.
What a blessing he has been in our life!
Our oldest will graduate from Geneva College next year ... Lord Willing!
We are preparing to move to Va so please email me ...or call me any of the old BL friends that I have lost touch with...

And please keep me in the loop if there are any reunions coming up.. I missed the last one b/c Samuel got sick.

I just wanted to let everyone know that there is going to be an ALL 80s REUNION in Asheville October 24-26, 2008.

It is a huge undertaking. There will be some of the time spent on the old campus that has had a major facelift. Time alone will be spent with each class as well as time as one large group. If you ever attended BL during the 80s you are invited to come.

I wish I knew all the coordinators, but if you don't see the contact for your class listed here please contact Wendy Arnim and she will put you in touch with someone for more information. Each class is staying grouped in several years together, but we don't all fit at one place. Lodging and meals need to be booked soon, so please contact someone if you are thinking about coming.

If you can't make it, we still want to hear from you too. We need updated contact information and also we'd love a note to know what you are doing or hope to do in the future. We miss you all and that's why we are doing this. Come and connect in Ashville October 2008!

Hello BLS Alumni and especially Class of '78,
I stumbled upon this page doing a Google search on BLS so thought I would post something.
I don't believe it has been almost 30 years since graduating from Ben Lippen. I have been in Nashville, TN area for 20 years now.
After graduating from BLS, I went to Columbia Bible College for one year and then transferred to the University of South Carolina. After dropping out and working full-time as photographer and marketing assistant and then going into the Army for two years, I finally graduated from USC in 1987 with bachelor's degree in Media Arts and Communication also receiving an Army Reserve commission.
I've been with the Army as a civilian for the last 20 years working in Public Affairs. For the last three years I have been the Chief of Public Affairs for the Nashville District, US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). I recently took a two-year temporary assignment to lead a USACE-wide team on Risk Communication and Public Involvement.
In 2003, I retired from the US Army Reserve after 22 years mostly serving in public affairs billets. My last major assignment was serving an eight-month combat tour in Afghanistan in 2001-2002.
I have been married to my wife, Loretta, for 11 years and have a step-daughter and a step-son and four grandchildren. They keep us busy.
I am sad to report that my twin brother, Phil, also Class of '78, passed away in June 1998 after a short illness. He was a hospital administrator at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, FL, where he had worked since 1985. He had an AA in Nursing from Belmont University, a BSN from New York State University, an MSN in Clinical Nursing from University of Miami, a Post-Masters degree in Nursing from Florida International University and was pursuing a PhD in Hospital Administration. He was a Registered Nurse, Certified Critical Care Registered Nurse, and a Nurse Practitioner. He was active in his church and several community organizations.
As the BLS Class of '78 approaches our 30th Anniversary and Reunion, I hope hear from some of my classmates. I used a quote in the '78 yearbook. "The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you." I am but a sinner saved by grace, and I am still thankful for God's amazing grace.
Regards,
Bill

Mona and I were married in 1970 in Michigan and shortly after moved to Florida where we still make our home. We have a national consulting practice in judicial system operations and facility planning. Our children our grown. We have enjoyed staying in touch with several of our classmates and occasionally getting together. We'd be delighted to hear from those with whom we have lost connection.

Hey Becky,
Please add me to the list and my info.
It's so great to see all the entries of so many of my friends on here and to read what all has been going on in your lives since leaving BL.
I met my husband at Mount Vernon Nazarene College and married in 92, had three children and moved to North Georgia where we now live. I am a stay at home mom and will be returning to college to finish my degree in Nursing this Spring. I hope to hear from you and I remember many of you and it brings back such good memories.:)Please contact me through my e-mail if you any of you remember me and we can get caught up with all the years we have not kept in touch.:)
Mahima Cooper

It is definitely a flash back to the good times of Ben Lippen reading all the messages posted here. I read of the joys and sorrows life brings to us all. My heart breaks to hear of those the Lord has taken home, but at the same time I remind myself of the blesing we have had to hear the message of salvation through Ben Lippen.

For those of you who remember me hmmm rolling the VW Bug into the main building hallway! What a hoot! Festo sorry for the chocolate Ex-Lax �. That was soooooo funny. Creating the Sr. "lounge" and rigging a unathorized TV �. The talent show where we sang Johney be good. Hey what about the wrist rockets over to the girls trailers? Some of the times are poping into my head as I type. I have spoken to Festo last year and he seems to be doing quite well with wife and family. Tim Heggarty was one of my groomsmen at my wedding � WOW was that 18 years ago. Yup. So here is the quick update since BL:

1986: Attend Gordon College on soccer and hockey scholarship
1987: Move interests to Salem State College
1988: Join Army / Military Inteligence "to find calling" \
1988: Marry Heather Burwell (college sweetheart)
1989: Moved to Germany with wife
1991: Sent to Kuwait for Desert Storm
1991.5: Realize that I don't like Army life
1992: Move to Vermont and finish college track at UVM and start internet provder Together Networks
1994: Become IT Manager for Dynastar Ski Company
1997: First child born (Seth)
1997: Started IT consulting firm
2000: Second child born (Ian)
2001: Become IT Manager for Rossignol Ski Company
2003: Third child born (Sage)
2006: IT Manager for the State of Vermont (State Infrastructure Manager)

So there you have it. I am blessed with a beautiful family and wonderful church (www.essexalliance.org). My prayer for you this day is that you all look to the Lord each day for your strength and direction. I truly hope to join all of you in our next class reunion with stories of laughter and tears.

Greetings Classmates, guess I've been out of touch for quite a while. I have been working at DMV Headquarters at the Drivers License Help Desk for the last 17 years. I live in Smithfield NC, still single and have 2 dogs - Rock and Dottie. I've been in contact with Robin Peterson, Seivright (when you can find him) and a couple of other drunk phone calls -sorry about that- did'nt mean to scare you. Love all, miss you, would love to hear from you. Please feel free to email. More soon. Luv ya! Reg*

Forty-plus years on, I'm "Jean Marie" to most of my acquaintance but still "Jeanie" to family and old friends. After three decades I'm still working as secretary and researcher for the same boss, Preston Manning. He has moved on from being Leader of the Opposition in the Canadian Parliament to starting up the Manning Centre for Building Democracy based in Calgary, Alberta (www.manningcentre.ca), dedicated to preparing Canadians for principled participation in politics (alliteration not my own). It's a joy to be a servant to someone who sees himself as a servant, always a challenge and a blessing.
Would enjoy hearing from a classmate or others of my vintage at Ben Lippen. I still benefit from what I learned there, specially from Reita (Hall) Wells and Terry Elniff. Thank God for Ben Lippen.

I am currently Senior Engineer with Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control based out of Orlando FL, but working with the 101st Airborne Division at Ft. Campbell, KY. Between Deployments, I have a beautiful wife and a daughter who just got married in June of 2007.
Was pleased to find this site and catch up with so many of you.

I made it to the tenth reunion, where my class packed up and went home to Asheville. Columbia just didn't do it for us. Missed the 20th, since I was back in Iraq. Going back to Afghanistan or Someotherstan this December. Look forward to hearing from you all.....

It is nice to read about you all. I Graduated from College of Charleston with a BA in Biology in '99. I have put that Bio degree to good use by going into technology sales for IBM in 2000. I have been working for IBM ever since. I am currently trying to finish up my MBA.

I am fortunate to be married to Susie Martin Kaminski of Darien Connecticut. We met through IBM. We have two children (Rebecca and Trey), two cats (Buzz and Stormy) and a mini van...I have realized the suburban dream!

Wow, it is amazing what you can find from an Internet search. I did a search today after getting an e-mail from a Ben Lippen classmate and found this site. It was great to see what had been happening in the lives of all of those who have found this site. It brought back a lot of memories, and I had to drag out my yearbooks to connect names, faces, and events. Unfortunately, my kids saw the yearbook and started laughing at all of us. It was also a bitter-sweet time as I found out that my roomate, David Rogers, had passed away six years ago after we lost touch after College.

As far as my life, after BL I went to Wheaton College and bumped into a few former classmates. After the influence of all the great teachers I had my two years at BL, I decided to get into Education and Literature. After graduation and teaching a few years, I decided to return home, in a way, and get my Masters by going to Columbia Biblical Seminary in South Carolina. I got to see the new Ben Lippen and a lot of my teachers and former classmates. From Columbia the Lord called me to the mission field, and I returned to Mexico where I met my wife, Damaris, and we got married in 1996. Since then we have had three kids: Anne (10), Caleb (7), and Daniel (5), been back and forth between the US and Mexico, and are now currently serving in Merida, Mexico. I am an assistant pastor at Calvary Chapel Merida and director of Calvary Christian School which we started two years ago. We now have 54 students from nursery to 4th grade, and the Lord is greatly blessing the ministry. We send out a monthly newsletter with information about the ministry in Merida and our family. If you would like to get it, send me an e-mail, and I will add you to the list. May the Lord bless you all, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Some of you might remember me. I went to Ben Lippen my freshman and sophomore years. Although I was only there two years, those years were some of the most memorable and influential in my life. I moved back to Connecticut to be with my grandmother for my junior and senior years. I then went to the University of Vermont and got my elementary school teacher's license. I never left Vermont. I have been living here since I was 18. I have taught kindergarten and first grade for the last 16 years. I have a very witty, bright 16 year old son named Franklin. Even at his young age, he loves to travel. Most recently he has been to Nepal, China and London. I am not married. I'll spare you the details!

About 5 years ago I bought 200 acres of land in central VT. I would like to have a herd of dairy cows, make maple sugar, cheese, etc. Every day I am doing things that I have never done before and often have no idea how. Somehow, I accomplish them anyway. Right now I am building a house, raising pigs, and working in the woods as well as teaching. I am not religious, but I do have a spiritual life. I pray, read the Bible, and I have been trained to do energy work because of my desire to heal like Jesus. I am also quite politically active.

About 18 years ago I took a trip around the United States and I stopped in at the old campus. It was sad to see it empty and the window to my sister's old dorm room was broken. Speaking of my sister, some of you might remember Sara Bonafine. She is living in the Catskills region of New York with her husband and 4 children. She is still as wild as ever. As everyone says, it was so nice to discover this website and read what many of my old classmates have been up to. I would love to hear more, since many entries are now about 10 years old. It would be nice to have any news of Cheryl Bradney, Nicole Benton, or Joe Thomas. It was great to read Alicia's, Brit's, Jonathan Brown's, Kristy's entries as well as all the others. Love to you all!

Can you add me to your faculty Ben Lippen page? That is such a nice thing you are doing. I was "Miss Early" and I worked at Ben Lippen from 1982-1985.

I want my former students to know that I released a book this past June. Most of them probably have middle school kids now, so I wanted them to know about it.

I wrote a novella that was release this past June for ages 5th grade on up. The title of the book is BFFs: Best Friends Forever.

If I could tell you a little about this book, I would want you to know that I have been a school counselor for over 20 years now. The problem of bullying never seems to go away. For many years, hurting students and their parents would come to me looking for a book to help them deal with the abuse they were receiving. I looked diligently for a book. There were plenty of books describing bullying, but none that offered the victim a means to get out of the toxic relationship.

Since the book I was looking for didn't exist, I decided to write my own. It was released this June. My desire is to help students rebuild their self-image. BFFs is based on a true story of a middle school girl who I coached out of her victim status. The book follows a group of girls and boys through middle school to adulthood. It deals with the typical issues encountered during that age span. The message of the book is that with the help of friends and God, you can weather through anything and come out a more compassionate person. And, bottom line, to truly be successful, Jesus Christ needs to be your best friend.

This is what one of the local columnists said about my book:

Jennifer Calvert's "BFFs" shows a real insider's knowledge of teens and tweens and their behavior, and it's no wonder -- Calvert has years of "on-the-ground" experience as a counselor and teacher at a North Carolina middle school. The book teaches moral and religious lessons without being preachy as we follow the tale of a girl who got picked on constantly in middle school, the friend she made and the two bullies themselves (a pleasant quirk here, that the bullies are not demonized but actually allowed to grow up in the book and change their own ways). It's a quick read, a fun read (easy for kids to get through as well) and one I can't recommend highly enough. Also would be very appropriate for church youth groups looking for something contemporary to study.
--- Scott Fowler, The Charlotte Observer

Thanks for your time. I believe the book can really help young adults who are struggling. And, honestly, it has a message for all ages about what is really important in life.

Blessings,

Jennifer CalvertCounselor and Coordinator of Character Education
for Cannon's Lower School
"Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education."
-- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I remember you as Margaret's younger sister. I finished BL in 1972, graduated from Columbia College with a degree in Education and am teaching a reading program for first graders in Lexington School District Two in West Columbia. I married Roy Aull in 1980 and have 3 children. Sally Katherine is 23 years old. She is a Clemson graduate and is teaching in an International School in Central Asia. I was privileged to stay with her this summer in her country and visit for a month. Jamie is 18 years old. He is a recent graduate of Lexington High School and will be attending USC in January. Jonathan is 14 years old and is a 9th grader at Lexington. He also plays JV baseball. We attend and are active at Lexington Baptist Church. I talked with Miss McCloy last year as she was passing through Lexington visiting her brother, who is in my Sunday School Class. She is married and lives in Florida. She is a school counselor, and her husband is a Presbyterian minister. I had dinner with Dr. Layman about 1-1/2 years ago. Sally Katherine and I talked with him before she left for Central Asia. He was getting ready to have hip surgery. My sister, Libby saw him today at the Physical Therapist's. He is doing well. Tom Brower, Iris Holmes, John Simmons, John Weeber, and I got together last Sunday for lunch. It was great fun revisiting the Ben Lippen days of old. We laughed and laughed. Thank you for having this web site.

Update #3...guess finally turning 40 has me thinking about loose ends that need to be tied up - as in updating my info on the web page. I have been working in site cleanup and emergency response for nearly 5 years for the US EPA in Philadelphia. I am happily divorced (yes, some times it is a happy event!) and living in the Philly suburbs. Life is busy and very full. I missed the '85 reunion due to the first of three deployments to hurricane Katrina - I had hoped to catch up with classmates then but it was not to be. Hopefully I can make a 25 year reunion. I had a chance to go to the mountain a year or so ago while I was in Asheville for training. Believe it or not I managed to find my way there on instinct and memory. I am happy that the place does seem to be having a second life - much better than the run-down disaster of several years ago - but it is bittersweet to see so much change. Time marches on and I do hope that I am able to hear from some classmates at some point. I still keep in touch (not very frequent) with Robin Peterson Robertson and Cristina Torre Larsen. Blessing to all - Ann

I received a card yesterday from Betty Basting's nephew yesterday. Betty went home to be with the Lord in the early morning of Wednesday, September 19.

BL Alumni from our era will remember Betty as the "boys' nurse" on staff at Ben Lippen. Don't know exactly the footprint of her time on BL staff, but I know that she was there from 1973-1975 when Karen and I were in school.

While I'm writing, let me give a brief update on our family. I continue in the position of Director of Internet Ministries here at Gospel Communications in Muskegon, MI. Karen is very involved with a local Christian camp as an instructor and facilitator for the high ropes course, rock climbing wall, etc. We are �officially� empty-nesters now � our son Eric and his wife, Kathy, live and work in downtown Los Angeles, and our twin daughters, Jenny and Amy, are both first-year teachers in the Boston area.

We've got a "Midwest reunion" of some of the members of the class of 1975 coming up in November. Looks like about 8 or 9 of us, and our families, will be able to get together. Should be a lot of fun.

This is Beverly Short, Bruce's wife. The message that was sent to Andy [Maples] was that Bruce died on September 6th, and that they think it had something to do with his heart. We are waiting on an autopsy report. He was napping like he would often do because he learned to nap at Ben Lippen, and when I went in to talk to him, he would not wake up.

Our twin sons have just started college, and he was so happy for them.

Bruce and I had fond memories of the 30 year reunion, and he often talked about how I seemed to fit in with everyone, and you would have thought that it was my class reunion.

My sister was wondering if he was the first in the class to die. I do not remember at the reunion having a memorial for the classmates that were no longer living.

Hello all,
We were vacationing in Asheville, and I was interested in finding the old campus (I never did find it.). In the process of looking for it, I ran across this site. I would have gratuated in 1972, but only went there one year. I do have fond memories: Soccer, Mr. Elniff, Mr. Weeber, running off detention (it only took once, I think), Steve Walker, Greer, the sunrise (haven't seen that for a while) English class (boy, that was hard), the Brazilian flag, haircuts, choir, hitchiking to K-mart, sliding rock, to name a few.

When I left BL, I went to Dayton Christian school where I did graduate. I went a year to Grace College, then decided I didn't know if I wanted to be a teacher or not, so sat out. I got into a community college and graduated in 1977 with an AD in nursing. I worked as a nurse since then, going back to Wright State University and getting my BSN finally, in 2003. I was married in 1976 and have two sons who are now married, too. My oldest has two sons, making me a grandpa (they call me Poppie). I've been working at the VAMC in Dayton for about 25 years. Yesterday, I went to the Biltmore for the first time. Thanks for creating this contact site.

I thought it was time for me to update my entry and went to check what I had last said. I found to my surprise that I had disappeared! I must have floated off into the ether so it's definitely time for another update.

After BL I did 1 1/2 years of Bible Institute (Music) in France, 1 year of Bryan College in Tennessee (Music), then I achieved my BFA in Photography at the University of New Mexico. We moved from Albuquerque to Saint Louis 27 years ago and have lived here ever since. We Home-Schooled our children for 18 years. Despite my fears of insularity and social awkwardness, they turned out pretty normal! If you haven't heard how notorious Saint Louis schools are - you must live abroad. We live in the inner inner city in an area some would consider blighted, but we love our community here which is more of a village in the middle of a city. We belong to a grass roots urban restoration group.

I married a freckled red headed African (2nd generation MK). He is a kind and patient man (though often naughty) which is how we stayed married for almost 32 years. When we met he was a wild artist who loved to camp in the wilderness with a blanket, a frying pan, and some salt and pepper. Now he is a Project Manager who does a lot of work on various government projects and gets itchy if he's at a pick-nick. He is a church elder in the Presbyterian church. But our passion and calling is working with artists - in dialog with unbelievers concerning the claims of Christ Jesus and helping Christians get out into the market place. We have hosted/created 5 different arts groups over the years. Currently we have a group which critiques each others work and organizes shows together.

My oldest, Sylwinn, married in 2001, graduated college in 2005, from Washington University with her BFA in Photography (like her Mama). She had her firstborn son in the Fall of 2005. Much to our shock he is a red head like his Grand-Father. She is expecting her second child. She is also a working artist.

My middle child, Gwyneth, is a manager at "that" coffee store. She also has her own wedding flower business. She is a single Mom and God has used this fact profoundly in her life. She lives next store to us and we spend a lot of time helping her raise her daughter.

My youngest child, Tynan, has been avoiding college for three years, pursuing forging apprenticeships. He is finally feeling ready to pursue his degree in Metal Working next year. He's also building wind mills and learning about solar energy. He lives and works with some old hippies, learning to live christianly in a hostile (but entertaining) environment).

My kids are pretty funny; we enjoy their many quirks. People talk about how wonderful it is to be a Grand-Parent, and they are right. It's terrific and there's a lot of potential for revenge!

The last three years (notice the relationship to Tynan's graduation from Home-School), I've been working consistently at my artwork and getting into shows. This is slowly moving forward and I have a big show coming up at the end of the month. My husband is finally painting again after 27 years and we're excited about that. The biggest change in my life is that I was diagnosed with a chronic form of Leukemia (Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia) last year. So far my blood counts are stable and I don't yet need medication; the greatest danger is a susceptibility to pneumonia so I wear a face mask most of the Winter.. I am so very grateful to God for ordaining the days of my life and feel such joy to be alive.

For those who knew my siblings - Gary Barnes, class of 1967, died of complications from amyloidosis and sarcoidosis in May 1988. He was married and has three kids and a Grand-Son, whom he never met. My sister, Vicki Barnes Joubier, married a Frenchman and lives in the Alsace area of France, near Mulhouse. They own a restaurant there and have two tri-lingual children who speak English, French, and German. They attended a French/German Grammar School and now the attend a German/French Lycee right across the border. We seem them about every two years.

Since leaving Ben Lippen, I finished college beginning at UNC-Asheville where I played varsity soccer with Jon Marcy, then on to CBC. I met Rachael at CBC. We have been married 33 years and have raised 3 wonderful sons. All of our sons are now college grads, one is married and is engaged in social work, a second soon will be married and a minister of youth at an Episcopal Church, the third has just finisted college and is teaching at a Christian school.

After college I served as a youth pastor for a few years in and American Baptist Church then attended Virginia Theological Seminary, receiving both a masters and doctorate. I have served Episcopal Churches in Montana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and finally back to North Carolina. Yes I am still an Episcoplian.

My mission at BL was to demonstrate that it was possible to be both a faithful Episcoplian and a Christian.

I remain grateful for the BL years and the sense of faith and faithfulness I learned there. My other Ben Lippen sibs are scattered around the country and I hope to see them all at my middle son's wedding in late September.

I think often of you my classmates and teachers, you all were such important shapers of four years of my life, foundational years. Email if you like.

Rachael and I are enjoying these years of being just the 2 of us again. We have had opportunites to travel as I engage the national church more. We have been finalist in a couple bishop processes, which made clear to me that I am best suited to the life of parish priest.

My wife, Marlene, and I were married in 1974. We met in Quito, Ecuador at Christmas time 1973. After Ben Lippen I attended Moody for two years, one year at Univ of South Carolina-Lancaster campus, and two years at Bob Jones Univ. Never really did finish my requirements for university graduation because I was working full-time and the schooling got put aside.

Marlene and I purchased a commercial printing business in Monroe, NC in 1975. In 1984 we sold the business and joined Wycliffe Bible Translators. I have been manager of the printing operations for Wycliffe Canada since 1986 until the present except for 5 years we were in Ghana, West Africa. Wycliffe asked us to go to Ghana to manage and train in the print shop that was in operation in Tamale, Ghana.

Marlene and I have six children - 4 sons and two daughters, 4 grandchildren and one more grandchild to be joining the clan in Nov 07. Three of the boys are married. Three of our sons live near Waxhaw, NC (near Charlotte), one son and his wife just moved to Nashville, TN and the two girls are still at home with us.

I have not had the opportunity to meet you yet but I was very impressed by the website you have put together on the early Ben Lippen High School people. I attended there from 1966 through 1970 and found it to be on the whole a profitable experience. Today is my 20000 day of life and so I am taking stock and pondering the autumnal part of life.

I work for the Paiute Economic Commission in research and development for a saddle tree company and also as a cnc technician. I live in the eastern side of California in a land of high desert and alpine meadows with a tomcat named Buster. I majored in Psychology and Fine Arts and did a little graduate work in architectural design. My interests have always been in design, natural and manmade, singing oratorios and motets, and understanding how to relate to God and his intentions for the earth. I have spent a lot of time in my adult life working in various materials science venues and remember fondly the wonderful presentations that Mr. Hathaway made in Geometry and Mathematics which I use all the time in three dimensional cartoons of saddle trees which I can generate toolpaths for to explain to the machines how to cut them.

Occasionally I get on a landscape painting jag or paint portraits of the people around me. My last great love died in the spring but I will hope to see her again by and by and so I will grieve, but it seems to be one of the preoccupations of adult living.

Ben Lippen was sort of a mixed bag for me because of my religious tradition and some of my lack of aptitudes. It was much later in adult life, when i was in graduate school that i learned how much my dyslexia (lack of a phoneme translator in the brain) was keeping me from reading speed and advancing in a pre computer paperwork society.

In those days, schools just thought you were lazy when you were actually putting out a lot more effort than the ordinary joe just to keep up with the class. But at Ben Lippen, the individual attention of Mr. Elniff and Mr. Bowes and Mr. Capp allowed me to excel in English comp, Mr. Weeber gave me the gift of Bible verse drills which I would never have gotten any other place. I remember one day saying a verse in Indonesian that we had had on our dining room wall to him and he figured it out from my inflections. I remember attempting to learn the assigned chapters in Senior Bible class, but it was just too much for a dyslexic person. But Mr. Hathaway was great because he thought just like me and was very analytic and so I could understand what he was saying. I also remember Dr. Culley saying that chance favors a prepared mind.

Ben Lippen gave me insights into other traditions of Christianity than I would have come in contact if I had taken a different path. I took a degree from the Houston Baptist University and enjoyed it because I had come to know the point of view in High School. And in my own tradition, i would not have gotten to know the scripture so thoroughly as I did in the Wilcoxen's Child Evangelism Fellowship Sword Drills over at Berean Bible Church. But I missed the more relationship and celebration based parts of my own communion and the high church elements and was always very happy when my father was at home, as his approach to Jesus Christ was very relationship based and not so much a book thing and about having to prove everything (although he could explain things in easily understood ways).

I was thinking about Francis Shaeffer who once came to speak and his L"Abri Fellowship and thinking that that is what Ben Lippen amounted to for me, was a shelter from the cultural storms of the Sixties, so that I did not have to participate in the drug experimentation or sexual revolution when I was young and unprepared and too stupid to make good choices. I did wish that they prepared me better for making the relationship decisions that would spring upon me in college, but I managed to do the best I could. I would say that when I came to Ben Lippen, I was already a bruised reed, a guttering lamp and they were one place where I was not broken and was not completely quenched. They preserved my ability to repent and begin a long journey in relationship with God, that might have been very complicated by what was going on in contemporary society at the time.

At the same time, I wish that there had been more support for visionary prayer and the contemplative life. One of the lovely things that was always available was time to run because they regularly scheduled time away from studies that we used for athletics. It is a luxury that I try to find time for in life these days as the blood pressure is high and needs to be exercised.

I went on to study woodworking and music and contemplative theology as an antidote to the basic fundamentalism of some of the teachers and painting and sculpture and pipe organ building. My marriage to Robin Marie Mumme did not last, but she gave me some very fine children who delight me to this day with their own children and their accomplishments. I am fatter than when I regularly cross countried but also more empathic and reflective, though still absent minded and write things down on my palm when I need them for short term memory.

My brother Peter and I seem to always be on different sides of theological conflicts, but we have other theologians in the family from other traditions as well, and it does not seem to impede us from worshipping the loving Christ together. And he is a Canon Theologian in the church so he should have the last word, although it is not in my little brotherly tendencies to give it to him.

Well, tomorrow is a water picnic at church as it is going to be hot and all the children will be filling their supersoakers and getting out the hoses lest some adults step off the grass and become part of the ongoing battle on the parking lot together with hapless deacons.

The cat is asleep, and I will have to compile a fruit salad early, to take for the general good. I thank you for listening and I pray that God will be with us all and bless us in the next myriad.

This note is an attempt to catch up with some of you whom I spent some of the most arduous and rewarding years of my life. Those of you that remember me please feel free to send an email (rdsenator at gmail dot com).

College years: spent in Canada, Europe and Hawai'i; finally ended up with a BA in Biblical Studies which I conclude has not served my vocational endeavors as much as it has elucidated the common thread from which I find my way.

Marriage: married the sensational Jennifer Lockman on April 1, 2000.

Career: after college I began an IT career that has broadened, funneled depending on your perspective, into project management which includes, but is not limited to, technology.

Interests: philosophy (ethics and mind), technology (globalizaton and convergence), music (opera and stuff that is sure to be on the unpassed list), travel (cultural education is the only scratch to the travel itch), running (used to do Ironman races but now just staying fit), hieroglyphics (again, I am kidding).

While researching on the internet, I came across this site. Wow! Wish I'd known about this a long time ago. I saw my sister Ruth's ('69) but she never told me about this site. Great to be in contact with the BL family.

Here's a rundown on where I've been the last 40 years (has it really been that long?)

Following Ben Lippen, I went to Moody Bible Institute, graduating in 1970. I continued my studies at Philadelphia College of Bible (now Phila. Biblical University). Thought I could do it in two years but ended up taking four, graduating in '74.

In 1976, I returned to Haiti (where I'd spent my childhood as an MK), for a one-year term. During that time, I met Jan Hummel, a nurse from Bloomington, Illinois. We were married in '78 and our short-term missions assignment lasted 11 years. Our three children were born in Haiti.

Leaving Haiti in 1987, God led us to Winnipeg, Canada, where we serve with Indian Life Ministries, a literature outreach to North American Indians. We have been here since then, with a three-year interruption when we served with World Team in Miami, Florida.

In 2003, my wife and I joined Wiconi International as Communications Coordinator. I also work part-time as editor of INDIAN LIFE, a bi-monthly evangelistic newspaper for North America's First Peoples. I'm a mentor with the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild.

Our two daughters, Jodi and Jinelle, are married and Jodi has given us two grandsons, Alex, 3, and Zachary, 1. Our son Jason still lives at home and works for a Christian transition house for people with HIV/AIDS called the House of Hesed.

So there you have it! It's great to be connected again and hope that you'll email me--especially those from '67.

Where do I begin (sound like the beginning of a song - oh yeah it is!)

After leaving BL (Thinking I was stuck there for five years) I graduated and went to Capenwray Bible School in England. I did the one year coarse there and moved back to the U.S. and went for two years at Greenville College in Greenville, IL just west of St. Louis.

Was asked not to return and was grateful for that since I then had the experience of becoming a Houseman (Butler) for the Governor of Alabama (Forrest Hood James) worked there for three and a half years. When the Governors term was over, he (the Governor) hauled me down with his family to Gulf Shores, AL where I helped with running a Marina for a year.

I then went back to school one year at Tennessee State then went for the next two and half years to David Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN and graduated.

I then left Nashville and had planned to work in Switzerland for at least two years at our family owned retreat center called �Edelweiss�; however the Lord had other plans which I was unaware of. I had a double hernia operation when �SHE� walked in with my sister and I knew that she was the one for me. I moved back to Fargo, ND and got married to my lovely bride Linda. We have been married for 20 years this past May 30th and have two wonderful children.

Linda is a teacher and works as a Para with special Ed students

Quinn (16) will be a sophomore in Champlin Park High School

Mariah (11) will be a 6th grader at Jackson Middle School

We have lived in Minnesota now for 17 years.

I am involved with the youth at our church (Maple Grove Covenant Church)

I am working with one of the largest travel companies Carlson Wagonlit Travel based out of Minneapolis and have been with them for 15 years but prior to that working for one of their franchises in Fargo for 6 years.

I think we are now all caught up with my life and NOW it is your turn. Please send me an email and let me know what you are up to or if you are in town call me at home 763-424-9835 or my cell 763-360-2726. Thank you for letting me share this with you and MOST of all Thank You Becky for setting this site up for us!

Love in Him who has made Love possible - your brother in Christ Sam

Will try to get my brothers Peter, Calvin, Luke and Dan to send you their update as well!

But briefly, well let us see:

Peter is in Washington State in a town north of Spokane called Kettle Falls and has a counseling ministry there and taking care of my Mom. (Dad passed away about 8 years ago). Peter is married to Diane and has two children Emily who is at North Park University in Chicago, IL and a son Nathan who just graduated from HS and will be attending University in Denver CO.

Calvin is in Creston BC, Canada and has a wife named Judy and he has five children, Heidi, Becky married and has two children, Jessie who lives in England and married and has one child, Esther and Natalie.

Luke is in Memphis, TN and has a wife named Sloan (Both are teachers) and has three girls. Eddy who is a junior in HS, Ginny who is sophomore, and Ruthie who is in 5th grade.

Danny lives in Jamesport, MO married to Sheri and will be house parents for a home of about 12 kids. They have four children. Daniel who is 19, Michael who is 18 and then there is Melanie who is 17 and then there is Heather who is 15.

 Signed on Thursday, June 21, 2007 at 2:01 PM (EDT)

--- Previous Entry ---

I live in the suburb of Minneapolis MN. Have a wife Linda and two children Quinn he is 6 and Mariah she is 2.

My sister Helene forwarded your web site to me. Beautiful Asheville
green and vertical is so different than Dallas which is dry and
horizontal. I feel a bit nostalgic and will probably regret this
moment's weakness. BL was good for me as a student and did prepare me
to become Professor Kraft. I live in a Artist's loft/warehouse near
downtown Dallas. Last year I was the Rome Art History professor for
Dallas County Community College Campus abroad in Rome and Orvieto. My
sister Alison lives in Rome so it was a very nice to spend time with
her and her friends. I am back in the studio because teaching has
become too stressful and dangerous and my art sells better than the
Colleges are willing to pay as salary. I never took instructions well
or graciously anyway. After many successful years as a
jeweler/sculptor I had some heart attacks and a triple bypass and went
back to school for my MFA in Sculpture/Hybrid Media, which means I mix
Digital and Physical, so I could teach in any university. I taught for
three years at the local colleges and then Rome but teaching is not
very rewarding so I resigned and do not care if I teach 20 year olds
again. Time is most precious commodity and work gets in the way. I
came home with sketch books filled and ideas ready to make and I have
built three wonderful large steel tables based on Renaissance wood
furniture. You may see my story at my website http://stuartkraft.com or
google me.

I want to thank you MK's for feeding my curiosity with your stories
about the world and fabulous places. World travel has been the
foundation of my ethnographic and art studies and art. Travel always
provides inspiration. Best wishes to y'all from down here in Hick
Town. My blessings to those who were kind to that uncivilized lonely
brat from New York.

I still laugh about the six inch rule on the BL bus going to K Mart.
That kind of theology was too close to snake handling and drinking
strychnine. I rely on Grace not Rules today.

We summer in Santa Fe from July 1 to September in the mobile video
studio. If anyone wants to visit while I'm there, email and I will fly
by on a Moto Guzzi motorcycle or my old Ford pickup. Of course
communications through the website are welcome while in Dallas too. I
like animals better than people so restrain your enthusiasm.

This is Dorothy (Christian) Jackson '77 and Jay Jackson '78 in Greenville, SC. We haven't updated in a long while and with the news of Mr. Hathaway's death, it just made me think to email you.

Well, we still live in Greenville, SC and have for about 20 years now. Jay recently retired from his fire department job and owns a nursery in Simpsonville, SC, which he runs full time now. I teach 8th grade Language Arts at Riverside Middle School in Greer, SC and have taught there now for two years. I previously taught at Southside Christian School for 11 years.

Our oldest daughter, Jessica, was married 3 weeks ago at the chapel at Furman University in Greenville. She graduated from The University of South Carolina last year and married a Clemson graduate, Brad Page. They are very happy and live in Simpsonville, SC. Our second daughter, Johanna, is a senior at The University of South Carolina and is studying English and has a minor in Spanish. She will graduate next May. Our youngest daughter, Julie, is 16 and is a rising junior at Southside Christian, where her older sisters graduated and I used to teach.

I hope this updates our family for awhile! It's been 5 years since we went to a reunion in Columbia but maybe we'll get down that way again soon!

This is Sharon, Bob and Bonnie's daughter. I know Mike attempted to send you an e-mail to a different address earlier today from one of my accounts. Unfortunately, I had server issues and we aren't sure it went through. Please excuse this e-mail if it you did receive the earlier one.

Dad died peacefully earlier this morning (Sunday, May 27) after a battle with Parkinson's Disease. We were wondering if you could send an e-mail to the addresses you have captured of alumni if you have them in an e-mail group.

The funeral is Wednesday, May 30 at Vanderwall Funeral Home in Dayton, Tennessee. Visitation/viewing is Tuesday evening from 6-8 at the same location.

This is such a great idea. I am way behind though, apparently. Here's my update...I got married in 1996. We have 3 children: Kayla (9), Brad (5), Brooke (5). We have lived in TX and several different cities throughout NC. I have been in touch with some of my classmates throughout the years but was currently attempting to get in touch with Festo Mutagaana. I see where he had posted in the past. I also read the entry from Mark, David Rogers brother and would love to get in touch with him as well.

Here's an e-mail that I received from Kathy a week ago. If you are
unable to attend, there is info below for sending a card or note for a
book they are putting together. -Wendy

Here is the invitation my sister just sent out for the graveside service
for my mom. All of our BL friends are cordially welcomed to come. I
will not be able to attend, which I regret, but I think it will be a
special time of remembering mom's life. My sister forgot to put down
the time of day, but I think it's in the morning. [According to the
info below, it may be right after lunch.] If anyone would like to come,
they can contact me and I will send out more details. [Kathy's e-mail
address is kathym42@gmail.com]

Thanks,
Kathy

As you all know by now, Mom died on March 3, 2007. We had a funeral on March 7 at the chapel at Penney Farms, Florida, the retirement center where they lived. She was cremated, and we are going to have a graveside service for her at the Buchanan family plot in Riverview Cemetery in Waynesboro, Virginia, on May 12, 2007.

We are going to get together at the Best Western Hotel in Waynesboro, right off of I 64 (near the intersection of I 64 and I 81). Their website is http://www.bwwaynesboro.com/info.php for further information. We have set aside a block of rooms at a lower rate for anyone who would like to stay there Friday and/or Saturday night. Just make arrangements with the hotel, and mention the service for Winnie Grimm Hummel. We will have lunch there, and a time of fellowship to honor Mom and her life. We will follow that time with a brief service at the graveside.

We would love to have you come, although we know that distance and time are big factors with a lot of people. Please let me know as soon as possible what you are planning so we can plan for the food. If you can't be there, but would like to send a card or note about Mom, that would be very nice. We are going to have a book for cards, and notes to pass around to each other. You could send those to either Martha or me:

Winifred Webb Buchanan was born October 9, 1922 in Charlottesville, Virginia to the late William James and Bessie Garland Dinwiddie Buchanan. She grew up in the Waynesboro area with older siblings Bill, Lilie, and Agnes. She was graduated from Waynesboro High School, and The King�s College in Newcastle, Delaware, which later moved to Briarcliff Manor, NY. Later in life, she earned her Masters in elementary education from Florida State University, and her Masters in library science from The University of South Carolina.

Mrs. Hummel went to be with the Lord on March 3, 2007 at Penney Farms Retirement Center, Penney Farms, FL, where she lived with her second husband Carl Hummel. They were married in April of 1989.

Services were held at Penney Farms on Wednesday, March 7, 2007.

And at a later date, graveside services will be held in Waynesboro, VA.

Winifred was married to the late Reverend Albert Charles Grimm in June 1945. They are survived by four children: Martha and her husband Ronald Brady of Hanna City, IL; Betsy and her husband David Tritt of Bel Air, MD; Steven and his wife Patricia (Baer) of Harrisburg,PA; and Katheryn and her husband John Morris of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. They also have 7 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.

The Grimms were active in Christian work in Minnesota, New York, and Florida. He founded Bethany Christian School in Ft. Lauderdale in 1954, where they worked until December of 1959, when they became missionaries to San Jose, Costa Rica, where they served until 1970. Rev. Grimm was on the staff of First Presbyterian Church of Plantation, FL, at the time of his death in November 1973.

Mrs. Hummel is survived by her husband, children, 7 grandchildren, and 12 great grandchildren, 3 nephews, and 4 nieces.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Penney Farms Pavilion in Mrs. Hummel's name or to:

These donations will be used for a project in Costa Rica to make church buildings handicapped accessible. The government there has imposed new building codes that require such access to church buildings. Funding will help churches in poverty areas make required improvements.
Expressions of sympathy may be sent to:

Thanks so much to the many BL friends who have written us with
condolences. My mom, Winnie Grimm Hummel, passed away on the 3rd of
March.

She worked at Ben Lippen during the 70's and 80's as
librarian. We moved there just after my father died in 1973. Our Ben
Lippen years were very good ones in many ways and we made many good
friends there during my growing up years. What some of our friends
from that era may not remember is that my siblings also attended Ben
Lippen in the mid/late-60s. Some of you may remember Martha, Betsy
and Steve Grimm. Steve's wife is Patty Baer, who has several siblings
who attended Ben Lippen as well.

Our family had a very special week together last week as we celebrated my mom's life. Once again, thank you very much for all your kind thoughts and wishes. We are planning a graveside service for relatives and friends who were not able to make it to her memorial service in Florida. It is tentatively planned
for May and will take place in Waynesboro, VA, where my mother was
from.

[I received the following e-mail from Kathy Grimm Morris on Sunday,
March 4, 2007, & will pass along any additional information as I receive
it. I have sent this to various folks for whom I have an e-mail address
(mostly my class) --- please pass it along to others from our BL family
that you have contact with. Since I got some of these addresses off of
Becky's alumni site, I'm not sure which ones are current so if you see
an incorrect address, & have the correct one, please pass this info
along. Contact me directly (wendy@alongfortheride.org) if you received
this second-hand & would like to get updates from me as soon as I
receive them. Please keep Kathy & the family in your prayers during
this time.

-Wendy (Mullinax) Arnim, Class of '83.]

Just wanted to drop a quick note to let you know that my mom died this
weekend. She's been in hospice care since October, but has been able
to converse (although in a confused way) most of the time, until this
week. She had some small strokes Thursday, was perky Friday. I spoke
to her (she couldn't answer) Saturday and a few hours later she died.
We feel very blessed, because she was getting wonderful care and it
went quickly. Please pray for her husband, Carl, and please pass the
word on to BL friends. I'm working on getting to the states leaving
tomorrow. My sibs are in transit, so it may be a while before the
Asheville/Columbia friends are contacted. There will be a memorial
this Wednesday (not sure of the time) at Penney Farms Retirement
Center (45 min. from J'ville) and later (a matter of days/weeks??)
there will be a graveside service in Waynesboro, VA, where her family
was from. I will be glad to forward the details, in case anyone
nearby would like to come, as soon as I know.

Just a little update on address and email address from me. Wanted to say hi to everyone that has stopped by to this site. Great site�too bad not everyone could stop in. email address is techframer@yahoo.com and am living in missouri close to where my parents are living and brother and sister. Would love to hear from anyone.

I am still working at the same hospital in Bryn Mawr PA and am the manager of the Cardiology department.

My husband David Akers who I met at Covenant College have been married for 25 years. My oldest son Robert Harrison is 19 and attending the University of Hartford, CT majoring in Vocal preformance at the Hartt School of music. Justine Paige is 17 and a senior in highschool. Haley Brooke is 14 and a freshman. All my children are gifted with the talent for singing and acting. And are all involved with music.

We still own and operate Akers Construction. We are still best of friends with Louise Stewart Kemp and family and are happy to say they live near us now having left the mission field.

Some of my BL classmates continue to be my closest friends to this day. Louise Stewart, Bob Morrison and Harrison Tullidge.

I suppose the fact that I'm approaching 30 (gulp!) has made me a little sentimental/curious about everyone from high school. Just wondering what everyone is doing etc.

After graduating I attended USC and Cornerstone University (in Michigan) for about 2 1/2 years. I planned to teach English (inspired by the beloved and sadly missed Mrs Key). I worked a ton and didn't really enjoy the school thing so I decided to give up. Only I don't exactly see it as giving up because I wasn't satisfied. I see it more as giving in.

I then did what I had been interested in for a long time, but never encouraged to do by my parents - went to beauty school! About halfway through I discovered that severe eczema would keep me from doing hair for a living. I was determined to finished what I started though.

Right after that, in July of 2000 I married my wonderful husband, Pete. Life has been a whirlwind since then - Peter Ryan was born on December 7, 2001. Katherine Alaina was born on June 12, 2003. On August 31, 2005, we welcomed Madeline Olivia into our family. We are expecting number 4 in April 2007. So life is busy and chaotic and loud and messy - but wonderful.

I stay home with the kids and Pete works as an accountant. I also work from home as a consultant for Usborne Books (the perfect job for a stay at home mom). We are planning on homeschooling, so I will get to be a teacher after all! I am excited and a little overwhelmed, but Lord willing I will have the patience and wisdom for this to work.

I would love to hear from anyone! Especially if you're staying home and/or homeschooling!!!

I was just looking at something on Ben Lippen and saw you had a
project going on. I am from the class of 1964 which has been fairly
active over the years. We have someone who has kept us in touch with
one another. I will e-mail her and tell her about your project. I
notice that no one from our class has signed in. We will try to
change that.

I finally found your web site - excellent work. I'd
like to get my information out there. Document is
attached.

Thanks,

Jon Walton

After leaving Ben Lippen, I graduated from Furman
University with a BS in Computer Science. I worked
for MetLife for quite a while (19 years), got an MBA
from Clemson University during that time, and then
started consulting when MetLife decided to close the
office that I worked in. I'm currently an IT Project
Manager, specializing in Health care project rescue.
Along the way, I taught college classes and ran a
company that produced murder mystery style weekend
adventures.

I've been married 20 years since my time at Ben Lippen
- 15 of those years to the wrong person. We divorced
in 1997 and I was married in 2000 to the love of my
life. As part of the package, I picked up 2 sons, a
daughter and (so far) two grand children.

I stayed in Greenville, SC for quite a while, then
started shifting around: Charleston, SC, Kalamazoo,
MI, Atlanta GA (so I probably passed Chris McAdams on
the interstates some mornings - that was a LONG
commute), Thousand Oaks, CA and I'm now in
Tallahassee, FL, working a project rescue for the
Florida Department Of Health.

I frequently think back about times at Ben Lippen and
this page has been wonderful. it is very interesting
to see where people ended up.

The class of 1976 has its 30 year reunion coming up
this year (scary thought, that).

If you want to see some of the adventures, please
check my web site (I keep it fairly up to date).

I phoned the church and spoke with Carter Johnson. He said there has been an amazing outpouring of love via money and letters for the Hathaways - over $11,000 to this point! Additionally, some doctors have heard about the situation and have agreed to forward "physician samples" of the Parkinson's medications Bob uses. This is truly wonderful! Please pass this news along, and I'll keep you posted!

Bonnie attends church every week, but Bob is not able to get out. If you haven't gotten a receipt for your donation yet, please be patient, and I'm sure you will get one. I mentioned it to the pastor, but he didn't know much about the bookkeeping procedures. I'm sure he will check on it, though.

Helen! Either call again or send me an email! I want to get in touch after all these years as well!

An update:

Art is now retired and managing our commercial property full time. For three years I traveled to various military bases speaking to the wives of deployed soldiers, marines and airmen on family and faith issues. Now I am doing some volunteer work in D.C. and waiting to see what God has for me next. We sponsor a lot of midshipmen from the US Naval Academy so our home is full of college kids most weekends. I have a passion for missions but the closest I can get is short trips. I go to Peru in two weeks and will make my third trip to Ukraine this summer, as God allows.

Our two sons are both in the Coast Guard. Erik moves back to Annapolis with his wife Susan, this summer to begin grad school and Andy returns from Iraq in June, God willing. Katie graduated from Bryan College and is working for the Heritage Foundation. Betsy will graduate from Bryan in December. Christie and Tori are still at home, both in high school.

My name is Timothy Fary, I attended Ben Lippen from 1985 to 1988. I am currently an Army Chaplain, and just returned home from my second tour in South-West Asia. One of the benefits to my mobilizations is that I've had opportunity to move my family back to my home town of Dayton, TN.

Imagine my surprise to learn that Bob and Bonnie Hathaway had also moved to Dayton and joined our church, Westminster Presbyterian! You may or may not know this, but Mr. Hathaway is battling Parkinson's disease. Due to their fixed income, Mrs. Hathaway works 2 jobs in order to pay for her husband's medicine. I've learned that their bill for medicine alone is $400.00 a month.

This is why I am writing to you today. Mrs. Hathaway served faithfully at BLS and fed us. You may have had Mr. Hathaway for Algebra ("pie are round!"), as a soccer coach, or if you were like me you may have known him best as the chair of the discipline committee. In any event, they touched all of us, and we need to pitch in.

My wife and I have decided to tighten our belts, and give $400.00. This is will only provide a month's worth of medicine for Mr. Hathaway. My hope is to mobilize the "Falcon Army" and raise $5000.00, enough to pay for a year's worth of medicine.

I have talked to our church, Westminster Presbyterian, and they have agreed to handle and distribute the funds. Please prayerfully consider helping out these dear saints who gave their lives to the students of Ben Lippen.

Checks can be sent to:
Westminster Presbyterian Church
230 First Ave.
Dayton, TN 37321

Please put "Hathaway" in the memo line of your check so the deacons will know what the funds are for.

If you have any questions, or just want to get in touch, don't hesitate to contact me at Timothy.Fary@us.army.mil or you are welcome to call my cell: 828.713.2174.

WHEATONITES: While I never met my wife's Blanchard cousin (same great-grandfather), I was John Blanchard Jr's Wheaton campus contact as he researched new information on his family history. Alumni are grateful for the legacy he leaves, partially recounted below.

***

Oldest of Jonathan's Descendants Named "Blanchard" Dies at 89

Yes, he carried the Blanchard name but--surprise--his distinguished lineage to the founder of Wheaton (IL) College came through his mother.

The Rev. Dr. John Flint Blanchard Jr.died at age 89 on January 14 as he sat down for breakfast with wife, Lois, in their Kirkland, WA kitchen. "Uncle John was very sharp, and seemed well, when we talked over the phone just three days earlier," said nephew Dr. Bruce Congdon, dean of the Arts and Sciences College at nearby Seattle Pacific University.

Blanchard was the son of John F.Blanchard Sr. and Jane Caroline Blanchard BA '09 (no relation), she the elder of two daughters of Dr. Charles Blanchard '1870 and his second wife Amanda Jane (Jennie) Carothers. Jonathan's son and his first wife Ellen (Milligan) had four daughters before she died. There were no children from Charles' third marrage to medical doctor Frances Carothers.

The two unrelated Blanchard young people met as students at Wheaton in the early 1900s and married on June 29, 1915 only after John assured his future father-in-law, the school's president, that the Alabama orchard belonging to his family could support a family. Since Charles' daughters had all married professional men, papa may have been dubious of the farm lad but never had later reason to doubt his blessing. The couple were wed in the Blanchard living room on Howard St. by the bride's father, the Rev. Dr. Blanchard, with half-sister Julia (College librarian) attending and left for rural New York State to introduce Jane to her new dairy farmer in-laws.

John Blanchard Jr. enjoyed a long and fruitful career in Christian education at the elementary and secondary levels, but it took awhile to find his calling. Born in Toledo, OH in 1916 he was graduated from Wheaton in 1938 with a BA in Political Science. It was while both were working summers at Cedar Lake (IN) Conference Grounds that he met Anne Bihl and they married in 1941. He went into personnel work in both government and industry in the midwest, but eventually became restive. It was Dr. S. Richey Kamm, a favorite Wheaton prof, who steered him to Ben Lippen Schools, NC and it took. He taught and then was offered the headmastership. He was ordained by the West Ashville (Southern) Baptist Church in '49 and, while earning his Master's in Education at Harvard (1951) he served part-time first and then fulltime later as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Plymouth, MA. Then Culter Academy in Los Angeles recruited him as its headmaster for nine years, and it was there and into his headmastership of Wheaton Academy (1962-64), that Blanchard concurrently became Executive Director of the National Association of Christian Schools. He soon moved to the latter fulltime, serving until 1972 when the family moved west permanently. As headmaster of Portland Christian Schools he was also on the board of the Association of Christian Schools Int'l, and eventually joined its regional staff. He taught as an assistant professor in education at Judson (OR) Baptist College. He was awarded an LL.D from Azusa Pacific University in 1967.

This was a person, say his colleagues, who exemplified the motto on a plaque in his office: "He who dares to lead or teach must never cease to learn." So it was that Blanchard developed a marked interest in working with children who had learning disabilities. He completed various courses at the Slingerland Institute between 1967-77 and instituted a special program at PCS for "children who learn differently" which attracted attention from public schools that needed help as well. He established The Wayside Language Center to provide counseling and assistance to families.

Another passion that engaged John during his retirement years was Blanchard genealogy. "This began as simply wanting our grandchildren to appreciate their heritage," he once told me in explaining the extensive research and writing he was doing on the Blanchard brothers and their progeny in early New England. Daughter Betty Blume '65 recalls the gleam in father's eye when he'd come back from a foray to the New England Geneological Society enthusing: "I found another link" to some distant ancestor. She took him to Concord, NH once where he located the graves of Blanchards dating to the 1700s. Copies of his papers are at Wheaton College where Archivist David Malone says: "We are grateful for John's original research. He added greatly to our collection." Blanchard's sister Mildred Congdon '42, now living in Pueblo, CO, recalls her older brother's keen sense of history even back growing up in their modest Depression-era home and their more recent visits when together they would try to piece together missing facts in their heritage.

Bruce remembers an uncle, dating to his childhood contacts, always "deeply concerned about my Christian life and the centrality of Christ and, later, that I had a Christian worldview." This was especially meaningful to the PhD biologist with 2l years on the faculty of SPU. An example of John's eclectic nature comes out in a gift to his pre-teen nephew--a book on gliding. "I think he just wanted to help me broaden my vision--to tell me that I could do anything I wanted to do." Blanchard's Christmas gift practice to his families begun several years ago was animals donated through Samaritan's Purse and other organizations to families in 3rd World countries. Several family members have followed his lead and now give chickens, goats or heifers to one another.

Blanchard is survived by Lois, a widow with three children of her own, whom he married after Anne died in 1985 and later moved to the Seattle area, plus his own three children: James '64 of Auburn, WA, Betty Blume '65 of Newton, MA, Barbara Sonnheim of Cherry Hill, NJ. He also leaves seven grandchildren, four great grandchildren, and sister.

Betty knew her father well when her birthday gift to John last October was six individually wrapped books. He opened them one at a time and was reading each in turn before he died, she found out.

I spent only one year at Ben Lippen, in 11th grade in 1981-82, which would make me class of '83 had I finished up there. I am currently Vice President of Information Systems for Advance Auto Parts in Roanoke, Virginia.

I don't have a ton of memories from my time in Ben Lippen, but the one that stands out as fun was delivering the invitations to the Senior Prom by flying an airplane over the campus and tossing them out the window. We sort of missed and they landed in the woods behind one of the dorms, but at least they still landed on campus. No word on whether the pilot of the plane still has his license.

I enjoyed seeing a few names I recognized from my year there. Thanks for taking the time to put all this together!

My name is Kicki (Nordenstam) Hellquist. I live in Stockholm, Sweden, and graduated in 1988. My e-mail is kicki_hellquist@hotmail.com.

I was so glad to see this page and read entries by people I remember so well and have so many great memories of. I live in Stockholm with my husband (since 11 years back, wow time flies...) and our two children, Clara who is 5 and Theodor, 3 years.

I work at General Electric right now, but I have also worked in printing & publishing for a few years, which I really enjoyed, and I also worked in missions for a few years. My husband and I spent 3 years in Singapore, which was a great experience. I would love to hear from anyone who remembers me.

I just got back from the 1985 class reunion held in Asheville. It was great fun to see friends from the old days and to see the old campus. And to hear about what is going on with everyone and how we can now reflect about what a huge impact God had on our lives through Ben Lippen.
I was so pleased to see that the new "retirement community" is going to retain some of the old campus buildings and much of the look of when we were there. I can't believe they aren't tearing down the boys dorm and instead making it into an inn.

I actually met and spoke with the owner/developer while we were on our "tour" and he seemed very nice and sympathetic to retaining some of the history. His attorney is actually a BL alum. The land there is absolutely beautiful. The roads he has put in on top of the mountain and the clearing he has done has really opened it up back there. I'd much rather have it still be the BL campus, but if it has to change, at least it appears that it is going to be done right and look beautiful.

It was awesome to see Ms. Harden. I can't believe she actually still had our mini-autobiographies that we wrote in her class - all filed away neat and nice. Talk about organized! It was funny to read mine from 22 years ago. Being in Ms. Harden's class back then has served me well during my life. I am excited that our class is going to start an effort to reconnect folks and try to get together an 80s reunion in the summer of 2008. I hope that happens. It would be awesome!

As far as a personal update: I am still at Deloitte Tax and am now a senior manager still working mainly with airlines. My wife and I now have 3 children: Violet - 6, Carter - 5, and Anabel - 3 months. They keep us busy. We are homeschooling and have found a church near our home that we enjoy immensely.

Anyone from the classes of the mid-80s, please drop me a line sometime. My work e-mail is kevinthompson@deloitte.com. Home e-mail is kell0880@bellsouth.net. God bless!

Lovely site. My name is Nancy Hightower, and I attended Ben Lippen in 1985
and '86. I finished out high school in Colorado since my parents moved
there. I then went to college in Durango, CO (beautiful campus), and went on
to get my Masters and Ph.D. in Literature. I teach at the University of
Colorado at Boulder now, and am really just having a blast. I've been
teaching college kids for the past ten years! Wow, how time flies. I really
did love my time at BL, and would like to hear from anyone that might
remember me! My email is nhightow@du.edu.

This web site is a life saver in that more and more people show up here. To update: My husband and I are back in Seattle, but praying about possibly moving to Atlanta, GA. All you people in the Atlanta area will have to tell us the advantages of living there. I just had a son on Father's Day this year (2005). You can see him on www.stillion.com on my husband Martin's side of the site on his blog, plus pictures of us. In the past few years I've traveled a lot to France several times (yes, met with John Stauffager and his wife), Ireland, Scotland, England, and Greece.

Right now the big thing is our class 20th reunion. Somehow, I got elected to organize it. Bill Edgar has helped me do this. We are having it in a couple of weeks October 28-30 at the Ridgecrest Conference Center in Black Mountain. Anyone from other classes are welcome to come, but it has been hard even getting the word out to our class. About 15 families are signed up to come at this point and a few more last minute people might come. Please, if you are near Asheville COME!

We'd like to have an all 1980s class get together in Asheville. I think we should take 5 years and organize it (contacting people is the biggest thing!). Taking that amount of time, maybe the people that do live overseas have a fighting chance of being able to plan to come? That's the thought. We need a champion for each class to contact me to plan this. Then we need an overall champion to organize us all. I elect Wendy (Mullinax) Arnim from the class of 1983 for overall champion! What do you all think?

Melissa Matthews Kight (Class of 1988)
Graduated from Furman University in 1993
Married in 1996
M.S. in Community Counseling from Western Carolina University in 2001
Daughter Lily born in 2003
Currently live in Asheville

Greetings and thanks soooo much for what you are contributing to inspiring these contacts with the 'ole great Ben Lippen Family - the "On The Mountain" family. It was great getting that forward from Billy Townsend! I sent it to A C McWilliams and we both have exchanged emails with Bill. How meaningful to learn of the Lord's direction for him and his big family.

Keep up the good work. I hope many more learn of what you are doing and join in to share their own journies. What a great group of wonderful "kids" attended BL "On The Mountain" and what great and sometimes difficult times we shared as the Lord graciously taught us all so much about Himself and ourselves as He was molding us for the specific future He had for each of us.

Just a few catch-ups on Dorothy and me and our five. We (Dot and I) did move with the school in '88 and the Lord led us to a small three bedroom house which has nice ly met our needs, located! about ten minutes from the campus. After 41 years ( 33 "On The Mountain" and 8 in Columbia ) we "retired" in '96.

Can't stay away from campus. Am out there for ball games, committee meetings faculty get-togethers and are learning to put up with those little aches and pains that show up at 79 and 77! The Lord continues to bless the school and the faculty's prayers and vision to see the students come to know Jesus Christ as their own personal Savior and Lord in a real personal experience, much as He did "On The Mountain." Can you imagine 950 students ( K4-12 ) with a Faculty-Staff of 90? and the Lord's provision of meeting the financial needs.
It's different but wonderful.

An update on our family: Judy and John Dahl live in Denver where she is a massage therapist and also really enjoys teaching water aerobics to senior citizens; John and Juliette with son John Gabriel are still in th e banking business in Par! is , France: Joy 's latest is a PhD from NCSU in the special field of "Disability Identity Development" and is on the faculty at the UNC Pembrook, NC.; Jeanne and Tom Jones live in Richmond, VA. and she is involved with Insurance Sales. They have a daughter Alex,, a high school senior: and Janice and Howard Steensma live in Hastings, MI. with Brittany, a high school senior and Josh a middle schooler.

Keep up the great job you're doing for the Alums. Homecominmg is just about 4 weeks away. Looking forward to seeing a lot of our "Mountain" grads there.

Thank-you for doing this website! I didn't know it existed until I met a lady in our new church who went to BL, and graduated back in 1973. She told me about it!

To all my classmates of 1986:

I can hardly believe it has been 19 years since High School.... After graduation, I went home to Upperville, VA, to live for a year with my parents before I would attend college. There I worked as a Preschool teacher. Then I met Rick Loughborough... My plans were to change! Rick is 5 years older than me. He was a banker. Needless to say, we were married on April 25, 1987. We lived in an apartment in Manassas, VA, for almost 2 years. I worked in a local department store. Then Rick told me he felt called into the Ministry. I didn't want anything to do with it... having grown up as a PK. However, later I had a real sense of peace about it. We moved to Chicago, Illinois, where Rick attended Moody Bible Institute to get his Pastor's degree, after already graduating from The American Institute of Banking. While we lived there, I worked downtown Chicago at an Insurance Agency for one year, then I was a nanny for a family in the suburbs for 2 years. I was blessed to be able to take some classes as well at night with other married students' wives. Our son, Joshua, was born in December of 1991, 2 weeks before Rick graduated. We then moved to Columbia, MD, to help plant a contemporary style church (part of the Willow Creek Association), where Rick was the Assistant Pastor. Our daughter, Jordan, was born in May 1995. While living in Columbia, Md., I was blessed to be a stay at home mom. Rick went back into banking... He was promoted, and we moved to Charlotte, N.C. in the fall of 1997. There we lived in Lincolnton for 3 years, and Gastonia for 4 years (30 mins. west of Charlotte). I worked part time doing some Marketing for 12 of the area McDonalds... also Activities Coordinator for one of them. Well, all this to say Rick felt he needed to get back into full-time Ministry...so long story short... in January 2005, this year, we moved here to Elizabeth City, N.C. I am a stay home full time mom now! Yeah!!! Rick is the Executive Pastor for New Community Church here. God is so good!!! It is the perfect job for him! It uses his Business background, as well as all of his Pastoral training. Our son, Joshua, is 13 in the 8th grade!!!! Wow!!! I can't believe I have a teenager!!!! Our daughter, Jordan, is 10 in the 5th grade!!! They go to a local Christian school here. I am very involved in the women's ministry at our church. We love the church and people here! It is a contemporary style church! (Dramas, multi-media, worship songs, etc...). We live about 1 hour from the Outerbank beaches!! We enjoyed going over there some this summer! Please write me when you get a chance! I've enjoyed reading all of your letters!!! After 18 years of marriage...It's amazing to look back and see all of what God has brought us through!!! God is so good to us!

Just trying to check in with everyone in connection with Hurricane Katrina.

We boarded up our home in Mandeville and headed to our condo in Ft. Walton Beach, FL. Don's parents left their home in Covington and are with us. Faith and two children were on their way down to LA (from VA) for vacation but they met us here. Don was able to change his flight out of New Orleans to Ft. Lauderdale and fly out of Ft. Walton this afternoon to do a seminar in Ft. Lauderdale Mon. and Tues. He is to return late Tues. night IF the flights are coming in by then.

There is an evacuation of Okaloosa Island (which we are on) because of potential flooding. But we are staying and the condo assoc. is leaving our power ON, but turning off power to the vacant units. So unless the power goes out here, we should be ok. We are about 250 miles from where the eye is scheduled to make landfall. The tide is occasionally lapping up to the sand dunes (if you remember where those are.) Next are the four foot walls around the pools and then the ground floor of the condo. The Gulf is angry!

Possibly the worst we will experience is power outage and not being able to get back home if there is a home left. It's surreal. I'm really uneasy without Don here, but we know Who is in control. I tried to contact some of you local people before I left, but couldn't get anyone - hopefully you had already left town. If you receive this, please let me know where you are. Pray for the people who couldn't get out of N.O. - this is going to be really bad.

The news says the worst time for N.O. is going to be between 9 am and 3 pm Central time Monday. I'll try to keep in touch as long as we have power. I love you all.

From MONDAY, August 29th:

Thank you for those of you who have replied to my earlier email. We came through the night with no problem and still have power. As you probably know the storm shifted east and will hopefully spare N.O. proper of the brunt of the eye.

The sustained winds here are 40 miles an hour and expected to increase throughout the day. The surf has moved no closer than it was yesterday, but also expeced to increase throughout the day.

We have been in touch with Don's parents' neighbors who stayed in Covington and they said they can see no damage to their home. That's all the word we've had from home.

Please continue to pray - it's not over yet. Thank you, my friends.

From TUESDAY, August 30th:

The power has gone off and on several times throughout last night - stayed off for 30 minutes one time, but that was the worst in regards to power here at Ft. Walton Beach, FL.

Faith and kids are leaving today to go to Orlando to try to have some kind of vacation. The kids have done pretty well being cooped up here for 3 days.

Have not been able to get any info on Mandeville/Covington - no phone service. I have not even been able to talk to Don in Ft. Lauderdale, FL since yesterday afternoon for the same reason. He is supposed to fly back in late tonight to Ft. Walton.

So it's just more waiting - wondering what we will find when we are able to go back home. From here to home we have to drive through the worst hit area - MS - don't know when those roads will be passable.

Two good points:

1. Most of the evacuaees went West and North instead of East (where we are) so it hopefuly won't be as bad as others trying to get home.

2. The major news channels are not reporting anything on our area so that may possibly mean it may not be totally devastating in that they only report the very bad stuff. Holding out all the hope I can.

Thank you to so many have encouraged us over the last few days - please forgive me if I don't respond individually to you all but I do appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.

Got this info from 2 message boards: Greenleaves (my subdivision) and Covington did not flood. Gazillion trees down, no power/water, parish (county) is closed. Rumor is that text messages can get through, but not calls to/from phones with 985 area code.

Don flies in tonight - his flight is delayed due to another plane having to make an emergency landing in Atl.

Aunt Pat in Daphne, AL on the Eastern Shore of Mobile has power and water.

From THURSDAY, September 1st:

Don's parents' house doesn't have any trees down on it!! Our house has a tree laying up against the game room (by the pool) but has not broken through the roof. Thank you, Lord! We lost our oak tree and giant crepe myrtle in the front yard. Parts of the fence are down, one column and a couple of planters are down where the tree in the back yard is up against the house. The neighbor's tree is down in our side yard.

All this info is from Ray Duncan - they made it home last night. Ray was going to try to find a generator today (Please pray that he finds one.) They also have the option of going on to Houston to stay with his son who just had knee surgery or they have several relatives in Mobile and of course, they could come back here. I hope they dont try to stay there with no electricity!

James text messaged (incoming calls to 985 area code still not working) Matt Robicheaux in Covington - they stayed for the H. but are all fine.

The Welches had one tree down in their front yard, but not on their house.

No word on any other friends in the area.

So it looks like the worst we'll have to deal with is spoiled food in the fridges and freezers. Thank you all for praying - if you hear from anyone in my area, please let me know!

From TUESDAY, September 6th:

It's hard to sleep nights - so many have lost everything. We feel guilty that we have a place to go to when so many thousands are displaced/homeless. We don't know what the future holds, but we know Who holds the future!

We are still working out many details with regards to our business and it will be awhile before we get all the bugs worked out. Our plan now is to stay here in Ft. Walton Beach for the next several months until the New Orleans (Louis Armstrong International) Airport is running on a full schedule again. Don's schedule is packed from now until Christmas and the airport here is only 15 min. away so this will actually work out well for him to fly in and out of here.

Jeff Hopper and his wife, Stephanie, were the "Live Case" at our annual convention in New Orleans in 2000. This means Don went through the financial planning process with them in front of the attendees to the convention. Then on October 19, 2003, Jeff became the 12th victim of the D.C. Sniper and survived. Jeff and Stephanie were our guests once again at our annual convention in 2004, and shared the events of that terrifying day with our attendees.

Jeff partnered with MoneyTrax last December as our Technology Partner has been invaluable during this disaster. I called him Saturday morning and told him "we need a disaster plan" never dreaming that we would actually have to use it. With his direction we successfully uploaded the hard drive of the Mandeville office computer to a computer in Melbourne, FL, (where Jeff is located) dedicated to MoneyTrax. Now from our computer here at the condo, I log onto his computer and work just as if I were sitting at the Mandeville computer! Who would have dreamed that when Don and Jeff met that Jeff would come to our aid because of a hurricane six years later? God did!

Don has 20 agents coming here to the beach for a Mentoring Program on Thursday and Friday. As far as we know now, we plan to go home on Saturday to assess the damage from the downed trees and clean out our fridges and freezers. A subdivision down the street (Meadowbrook) got power back today. We're hoping that Greenleaves may be restored this week also. Then Don is back on the road again.

Thank you to those of you who have offered your help. As far as we know now we do not require anything personally, but we are sure that once we can get back and visit with folks at home there will be those who need help to put their lives back together and need financial assistance. We will give you some specifics when we know more.

Love to you all - Connie Blanton

Below are some links of pictures and web sites that some of you may be interested in:

Many of you have asked how you can help. Below is the link to our church in Covington, LA - Trininty Evangelical Free Church. They are set up to take donations of financial aid, manpower, and supplies to help local families in our hometown displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

The pastor of our church, Michael Sprague, has three trees down on his house. Thank you again for your generous offers to help. I reported to you yesterday, that we thought we might go home on Sat. 9/10 - not sure that we are going at this point. Will keep you posted.

"This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it." Connie

Hi, Becky - what a blast from the past!! I was looking up info on the high school I actually graduated from (Los Alamos High School in New Mexico) after attending BL for 2 years, and a bunch of other high schools came up; lo and behold, here is all the great information you have compiled on BL. Such a treat! Thank you so much for doing all this!!

Ruth Ellen Howdyshell, also from the class of '75, has been doing a newsletter annually for our class, so it has kept me up to date with them, but I really enjoyed reading about others from previous and later classes. I have not done a good job of keeping in touch with anyone. The only person I still have contact with is Laura (Rutledge) Simmons, as her parents have property on Orcas Island, in Washington, where my folks live.

So here is the info for this web page:

As I said, after leaving BL I graduted from Los Alamos High School, in New Mexico, then attended Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA, majoring in child psychology. It took me awhile, and a couple of college changes, but I finally received my degree, from Brookhaven College outside of Dallas, Texas; I ended up majoring in early childhood special education, which I taught for several years before getting more training and going into social services, which I have been doing for 15+ years (yikes!)

Before settling down I spent time in California, Texas, Wisconsin, and Florida (where I spent time with Jodi Harris - class of '74). I spent time in food service, retail sales, banking, and as a nanny for 7 children. I also visited Europe and Asia.

Currently I am busy teaching Lifeskills activites for the Department of Human Services in Oregon as part of their Welfare to Work program, and I also coordinate an Indpendent Living program for students with special needs who are about to exit high school. Both programs are similar in that I do barrier removal, counseling, and employment related activities with the goal being self-sufficiency. The work is stimulating and frustrating! The hardest part is watching people try to fill the emptiness in their lives with external things (drugs, alcohol, money, etc.) when the only "cure" is Jesus.

I have been happily (for the most part!!) married to Larry, a builder, for 23 years. We have 2 children, Lauren, 20, who is a Junior at Oregon State University, majoring in child psychology, and Ben, 17, who we are praying will make it through his senior year of high school mostly unscathed!! I also have a son, Ryan, who is 24; he manages a restaurant in Corvallis, OR.

We live on the beautiful Oregon coast, near the town of Lincoln City. I spend most of my free time in my garden, taking my dogs for walks on the beach or around the lake near our house, and attempting to play golf with my husband (I call it 'hit and giggle.')

We still make several trips a year to Orcas Island, where my heart is; someday I will figure out a way to get my husband to move there!! My father recently passed away, at age 87, but my mother, who is also 87, is still there, so I will have a good excuse to make lots of trips this year!!

I have only been back to North Carolina 4 times since leaving BL, and have not been back to the old campus. I plan on going there this fall when I accompany my mother to Montreat to visit her sisters.

I would love to hear from any and everyone who wants to get in touch from "back in the day." My e-mail address is: myers9@hotmail.com

A lot of water has passed under the bridge of life since leaving Ben Lippen 36 years ago. I came across this website while looking for old friends, Mark Miller, and Bill Wills.

For those who had Bob Weeber for freshman Bible class, remember the song he taught us, "Christ is all I need!" At the time I thought the song rather simple but now 36 years later I know the profound meaning of it. Though my time at BL was rather rocky, setting perhaps the record for detention hall (6 consecutive months of campus restriction) in my two year stint there minus 2 weeks, because I ran away from boarding school to find out about the reality of God my own way.

Mr. Elniff, my counsellor my sophmore year, spent alot of time trying to convince me that I wasn't a Christian due to my behavior and took me off of sports, which I loved, and spent many an hour with me in his office lifting weights for my phys ed experience while all the while trying to get me saved. Remember how Mr. Elniff would hardly be seen without his cup of coffee in hand and a pencil in his ear. Even though in those days I was getting "saved" every week when the "hell, fire, and brimstone" guest preachers would come and speak in chapel hour, I now know that I needed just to keep my slate clean (I John 1:9) in order to lay hold of His peace in my life.

Though I learned much from my Ben Lippen days and treasure my memory of the Fortosis family, had I to do it over I would have elected to spend more time with my earthly father, Cameron Townsend, who to this day is my greatest roll model of Christ. I was a late bloomer and married to my lovely Latin wife, Soli (Soledad), at the ripe old age of 36 and we now have 6 special blessings we are responsible for: Elaine (15), Priscilla (13), Christina (11), Amy (8), Cameron (4), and Janna (3). I was only three when I asked Jesus into my heart at a Billy Graham Crusade in 1956 and my favorite song since is "Now I belong to Jesus and Jesus belongs to me!"

I enjoyed reading of others I knew at Ben Lippen like Bob Major, Sarah Perry, Bob & Chris Fortosis. If it hadn't have been for the kindness of David and Steve Fortosis, I probably would have received the left foot of fellowship from Doc. Thanks to Doc's letter of recommendation I was accepted to Moody where I spent my freshman year of college hoping to be a missionary pilot.

I did end up being a pilot until last year when my contracts ran out, flying for the US Department of Agriculture photographing farm land in Georgia, the Carolinas and Alabama. As was Jesus prayer, my longing for us is that we be one with the Father and His Son. Growing up in missionary communities was a great heritage I'll always treasure and of sorts that was what Ben Lippen was for us all. I now know that that is what God wants to bless us with starting on this side of eternity. Psalm 133:1, and Psalm 107 are a reminder to me that our heavenly Father does want to take us out of the wilderness experiences and put us in "cities of habitation". Of course Satan is trying to puff us up in our individualism (divide and conquer routine).

At age 52, my 8 year old daughter Amy told me today, "Daddy, when you die, I'm going to miss you!" The greatest treasure we have is God and the brotherhood of believers. Let's run the race to win even if it we are just door keepers for His kingdom. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock" - let's sup with Him and one another.

Just to mention a few names I would like to hear from, Lloyd Gay, Steve & Ann Olson, Steve Fortosis, Dave Fortosis, Ben Wood, The Wood brothers and Hatcher brothers from Mexico, Mark Miller (who I would have thought would be a Supreme Court Justice or President by now), Bill Wills (who I lovingly practiced my primitive knowledge of electricity on when hooking up 90 volts to the toilet seat as we were "sweetmates" sharing the same bathroom), Dave McQuilkin, who gave up the idea of being my roommate when I devoured all his jar of Tang, Steve Longacre who suffered after Bob, _____ Jones who shaved his head along with Longacre to protest strict hair codes, Jack ______ who passed out X-lax chewing gum during class for a prank that caused his demise in 1968 though I really believe he had a tender heart if you looked beyond the surface, Charles Sexton the chess champ, the Boulifant twins, Debbie Simmons, Dorothy Grimaldi, Ray Payne the curve breaker and great soccer player, Mike Watson, Bob Reed, Howard Hawkins, Miss Van Engen who gave me a new found love for English class which I dreaded previously, Betty Van Engen, Faith & Sam Playfair, Faith Hopkins, Roberta Mummy (?), and the French guy Eddie something or other - sorry Eddie, can't remember your last name.

What wonderful memories of my Ben Lippen family! During my sophmore year girls were allowed to ride on the same buses as the guys to sporting events. Anyone remember Kmart Baptist and the Aliance Church downtown? I miss Coaches Mac and Hathaway. Anyone remember the basketball sensation, Nelson something or other, oh yea, Phil Nelson. Remember Lloyd Gay's awesome head shots in soccer. In freshman basketball playing against Eliada Home I came off the bench and scored my first two points for the other team - how embarrassing! How many of us learned how to do our own laundry and ironing while at BL!

Thanks Becky for getting this website going, though I don't know you. God bless all of you and keep you 'till we meet again,

Bill

ps. Ed Capps and his super brother Joe were the greatest hillbillies I ever met and what great athletes from East Flat Rock - they were two of my favorite heros. Joe took a leave after kissing who in the haunted house we had (Anita Brower was it?)? I don't want to start any rumors. I felt bad for Joe - we shouldn't have been celebrating Halloween anyway. Did anyone else spend an average of two weeks every winter in the infirmary with flu besides me? Don't remember the nurse's name but she was great. Ya'll take care! How could I close without making mention of the faithful janitor and his wife - Mr. and Mrs. Smiley!

I'm so glad to be reconected with my class of 1965. Even though I was
not able to graduate with my class (I had to leave my Junior year due to
medical reasons) I still consider it my class. I have wonderful
memories of my time there.

My husband Tom and I have been married for 39 years (Feb 12, 1966)
We have three childred, Joy 31, Faith 29, at Joel 24. We also have
three granddaughters from our daughter Faith. We are missionaries with
Wycliffe Bible Translators.

We are having a BL reunion for the Class of '65 at the home of Clare (Strachan) Frist in Montreat, NC on August 12, 13, 14 --2005. We are trying to contact everyone in the class. If you see this notice, please contact Betsy (Grimm) Tritt - dets68@aol.com - or Dave Martin - martinnn@aol.com - for further information. Hey, its only our 40th!!! And, we're planning to see the old campus -- but mostly renew acquaintences and catch up!

I thought I might as well throw a little more junk on my Guest Book entry. Nobody ever reads it so machts nichts!!

I was in the 9th grade and lived in the "wing" The year was 1948. One of the residents of the wing was a boy I'll call "Penny Buddington". Well, it seems Penny sent a sweater to the laundry in Asheville. They picked up and delivered each week. Well, wouldn't you know that all of a sudden Penny was running around hollering someone stole his sweater. Now, stealing at Ben Lippen Boys School was a chargeable offense just a tad short of murder.

Accordingly, the administration was determined to find out who the thief was. They announced the theft at supper and noted that if the sweater didn't show up in a noted time a "fession session" would be imposed.

No sweater so, on Saturday all students were assembled in the study hall/chapel and instructed to sit at a desk and keep your mouth shut and sit there and sit there and sit there unit someone confessed or the cows came home. I don't remember how long it was " 'till the cows came home", but come home they did and the criminal was still at large. After sitting in a wooden desk half the day, they let us go and promised "further action would ensue"

Shortly after, during the week, Penny's roommate noticed that after opening his Asheville laundry, Penny surreptitiously and quickly shoved something under his bed. The roommate got down peered under the bed and THERE IT WAS" the purloined garment. Penny's lapse of memory would not go unnoticed.

He didn't say anything to Penny but, within the shortest time span since creation, everyone in the wing did. Did they ever.

If it hadn't been compassion on our part, and woul;d have made such a mess,we would have done away with Penny right there on the spot. We did assemble and constituted what could only be called a kangaroo court. After considering torture, amputation of limbs, blinding and a few other appropriate measures we came up with a plan.

THE PLAN: It being the dead of the winter, we figured we could put the elements to our use. We would trick Penny to come out in front of the Lodgein the darkness of evening. We would then seize Penny, pin him to the ground, strip off has clothes, all of them, and run them up the flagpole. Everything worked as planned. To give the proceedings a semblence of legality, the charges were read before commencing justice. Penny was helpless to extricate himself from his predicament. A short but futile struggle ensued.

Now, in the matter of running the clothes up the flag pole, the scheme was to run them to the top and then secure the lanyard as high up on the pole as possible. Being the tallest boy on campus, I had little chance to escape the honor of tying that knot on the pole. As a matter of fact, we thought it better and another lad stood on my shoulder tied the knot and justice was served ted feet up. We all fled the scene. Penny, having no clothes on and nearing death by freezing, chose a route to his safety we had not anticipated. Here is where the Law of Unintended Consequences arrived. He did not run through the lobby as we expected, but ran to the headmasters home down the road and presented himself at the door late in the night as a spectacle neither the headmaster or his wife had ever seen.

Whether he was invited in or not, I do not know but his somewhat unusual lack of attire begged the question of what was going on. Buddy with no reticence explained exactly what was going on. Identifying the assailants, at least in one case, was no problem since, my height not only stood out on campus, but it also was the first name his memor coughed up at the faculty inquiry.

I was dead in the water.

I and other kangaroos got our own just punishment. Back in the study hall again, sitting on those hard wooden chairs, the administration obliged us to write 2000 times, are you ready for this?, "A MOB IS THE SCUM OF THE CROWD THAT RISES TO THE TOP"

Two thousand times and none of this writing one word repetitively down the paper vertically, and then doing the same thing going on to the next word and so forth, a scheme that could up the process substantially. Nope. it was sentence by sentence 'till the whole bloody thing was done.

Was my punishment effective? Well, it's been 57 years since I finished writing the last sentence. I haven't forgot it for one minute neither have I run anyone's pants up a flagpole.

I only spent one year at BL, but it was the best year of High School, and I really was disappointed that I had to leave. Being the only BK "Bartenders Kid) among the PKs and MKs was an interesting mix. I roomed with Daniel Grossman if anyone has heard from him. There were so many great kids and I would really like to know what has happened to folks. God has blessed my life richly and I owe part of the strength of my faith to my time at BL. I love the pictures of the old campus and can almost smell the cinnamon coffee cakes we ate for breakfast. Hope to hear from some of you. God Bless! Marcus

Hello BL Friends,
I have enjoyed reading many of the updates... It is good to get the perspective of the past to present.
I have enjoyed living in California now since 1975. After one year at Bryan College in TN with many of my BL classmates, I transferred to Biola University. I graduated as an art major and have been very blessed to make a living drawing all these years. I have a rubber stamp business which you can check out at stampendous.com
Although I was married for about 5 years, I have been on my own again ever since 1989. I'm like the cartoon lady who says "Oohhh! I forgot to have children!" I have 2 cats and a turtle named Daisy--all low maintenance. I do have some 50 employees though and they challenge me to improve my parenting skills every day. My parents moved out here from Texas 5 years ago. I enjoy having them nearby. They are in good health and even come down to the office most days to help out in so many ways.
My church, Yorba Linda Friends Church, is a very dynamic and ever-changing fellowship. (no longer any Quaker resemblance) I enjoy many ministries there including choir, Bible study and outreach. I am thankful for many wonderful friends. A group of some 30 singles all went on a tour of Italy a couple years ago. That was such fun.
Actually I enjoy lots of travel for business. The people I work with are wonderful. In February, I had a 3 week trip with distributors in England, Belgium, Holland and France. Later this year I will go to New Zealand. It is wonderful to have friends all around the world to visit! In Australia over a year ago, I fell off a motorcycle and that was a challenge--to teach rubber stamping one-handed and then make it back home.
Well, take care everyone and thanks for sharing, Fran

What a GREAT site! It's been so much fun to catch up with old friends. An update since I left Ben Lippen:
I went to Moody and then to Byran College and got my degree in Christian Education. I moved to Ruston with my parents and met Jimmy in the summer of 1984. We were married in February of 1985 - yes, we knew each other 6 months when we married, but when you know it's right, go for it. We have a 15 year old son named Josh. He is a GREAT kid!! We could only have one but God put so much good in that one! We are involved in a new church - Crossroads - here in Ruston. I'm the Children's Ministry Coordinator and work 3/4 time. If you're ever in the area, look us up. We're just 1 mile off I-20. Give us a call at 318-251-2233.

Just found this place. I hope to see some friends at the 10 year reunion! David & I are back in Cola after going to school in Charleston. He's teaching chemistry at Irmo and I'm a peds physical therapist at Columbia Rehab Clinic. A big hello to all of 'yall! God Bless!

Hey there everyone! I was so excited when I stumbled upon this site (I was searching for something completely different on google) Anyway, how wonderful to hear about some of you. Let me give you a brief overview of the last few years. I graduated dental hygiene school in 2000, went on to MUSC for my bachelor's degree, Then, I got married to Mark Terry (a CIU grad) in 2001. We moved to Florida and then back to Columbia. Now we have settled into to Greenwood (a beautiful town!). We bought our first house here in g-wood. Mark is a youth pastor and I am working part time. We love it hear! No children yet- but we can't wait to be parents. It truely is hard to believe how fast the time goes. Hope to hear from some of you soon! Take care. Jennifer

How things have changed since my original posting. After being scarificed on the altar of shareholder value, also known as being laid off, I found myself in Florida working for the Department of Health. Now I'm working for a small medical practice management software company who was just swallowed in to the WebMD group of companies. I live about two miles from the beach and spend most of my free time sailing my small catamaran. While my financial rewards are not as great, I discovered the difference between wants and needs. What I've lost on the financial side, I have gained n quality of life and friends. I still stay in touch with Karl Stegenga. He's working as a lobbyist in DC and even has his own picture on their web page. Go to http://www.hyjekfix.com/indexpersonnel.htm to see his picture and tell him how much weight he has gained.:-)

I was THRILLED to find this site! It was great to catch up with a few from our class and from the years we were at BL. I went to Moody after graduating and then to Bryan College to finish my degree in Christian Ed. I met Jimmy in 1984 and we married in February of 1985. We have a son, Josh, who is 15 and 6 feet tall - he obviously didn't get the height from my side of the family! We are part of a new church here in Ruston and I am the Children's Ministry Coordinator. Jimmy is a Certified Professional Landman. We live 1 mile from I-20 so if you are ever in this area, please stop by. Mom and Dad have moved back to the Asheville area - they are in Weaverville and go to Weaverville Presbyterian Church. Dad works part time at the Folk Art Center on the Parkway. Mr. Elnif does their taxes and Mr. Curtis is in a Bible study with Dad. They've seen a few other old BLers too.

Hey everyone,
Its nice to be in contact again. I think about you all often. I'm doing great. I've been married almost 6 years, and we have 3 kids. Hannah is 3yrs. Caleb is 16mo. and Abigail is 8 wks. My husband, Steve, is getting ready to start a masters program at UNC Chapel Hill.
I hope to see all of you at our 10 yr. If you have time please email me and let me know how you are!!

Guess it is time that I updated this thing. I will be starting my 15th year as one of the directors of New Life Bible Camp. At the camp, I am in charge of developing the camp curricullum, speaking, and leading worship through music and drama. Guitar and song writing are still a first love for me. I don't think Richard Peck realized what a monster he was creating when he and his sister Anne helped produce my first album 10 years ago, the tape that contained the song about our Ben Lippon days. I have produced 6 more recording projects independently, all containing original Christian music. I have just released my newest project, "the Mystery and the Majesty." Making tapes and CD's has been a way for me to supplement my income because the camp is run by missionaries who have to raise support. The Lord has provided for all my needs, and part of that provision has come directly through the musical projects. If you would like to purchase a copy of "The Mystery and the Majesty" send a check for $15.00 (includes shipping and handling) payable to Andy Maples, in care of New Life Bible Camp, 451 Tarwater Road, Buffalo Mills, PA 15534.

I would appreciate prayer as we enter the summer program. We are expecting a huge turn out. We are developing a theme based on the summer Olympics called R.A.C.E., which stands for "Running After Crowns Eternal." I am leaving for Jamaica this coming March. I have been going to Kingston the past three years with a mission team to the Caribbean Centre for the Deaf.

If any of you are in southwest PA, I have a lodge with 100 bunks. Stop by for a visit.

Thanks, Becky. I keep forgetting that you don't live all that far from me. We ought to get together next time I sing in the DC area.

Andy Maples

PS. I forgot to mentioned that I graduated from Trinity College and Semiary with a degree in Theology this past year

WOw! There are so many old people on this site! Ha! Jsut teasing! I am excited to see so much communication between old classmates so many years after we graduated! Would love to hear from you guys if you want to drop a line! Hope to run into you soon!

It has been so much fun walking down memory lane on the mountain of "rust" as some of the boys called the place.
The oval photograph of the main building shows what once to be the Asheville city post office. We were told that CBC bought it and moved it to the hill top. I attended the first 8th grade class. Most of our classes were in the basement in the wing that was opposit the front interence. There was a large table with benches on two sides at which we sat and the teacher stood at the head of it to teach. To help cut school expenses, we each were assigned tasks to perform. I recall the wing that was at the West end was still under construction. We had no gym. The basketball team practiced on the gravel floor in Huston Hall. There was only one basket, because if there had been one at the other end, the players would have to climb donn a long hill to fetch the ball should it miss the backboard. Do any of you remember the wooden pews in that open sided structure? They looked so huge to an eight grader, especially when we were asked to move them out of the way and to one side for the basketball team. Many services were held in that building until the chapel was built. At least then we were out of the wind. Demerits!! I was scared to death to do anything wrong. I can't recall of being awarded any my first year. I was kidded often because of that. The older guys called me 'PLD' which meant Presious Little Danny. But I made up for that later on.
I do recall the army truck that was mentioned. We went on the back side of the hill, cut down some pretty big trees and made logs of them, then pushed them down to a less steep area. There we cut them into stakes to drive into the sides of the athletic field to help contol erosion.
Once, I thought we would lose David Rucker as he drove down that hillside to the field and the truck almost rolled over. The Good Lord watched over us with lots of love.
The Headmaster was once asked, "How come we don't have any girls here?" He told us walls could never be made that tall. Affairs with mixed company were always a chuckle. It seemed very where one looked, there was either a faculty member or a staffer to make sure we never touched our guests. We called it the 'six inch' rule; we couldn't get within six inches of a girl! Mnay, many demerits for holding hands and possible dismissal for kissing!
Smoking was just about the rule that was broken most. I did smoke, but not until the 11th grade; but never on campus. We would sneak into movies in Asheville by getting a friend from church to buy extra tickets. Then once he was inside, he would open a fire escape and we would go in. He had tickets if he ever was caught. When I was a Senior, I met a very pretty young lady at a party Montreat School for Girls hrld for us. I was the Football "King" and she was the "Queen"; we had never seen one another before. Anyway, it led to a great friendship that later became intense after I graduated. She would become my wife and mother to my two sons, Danny, Jr. and Bobby. Some years later, we parted our ways and I never saw the children for over 30 years, but that is a different story. We finally met in 1995 and my boys and I are closer than ever now!
I spent about 30 years in the military, both during Korea and Viet Nam. I retired in '81 and have two other great sons by my present wife with whom I credit with saving my life by pulling me out of the bottle. I thank God for allowing her to come into my life. She was named Kim, Suk Cha when I met her, but now I call her my Yobo! That is a word of endearment used by Korean people for their spouses.
THE PUCKER FACTOR is a book I wrote about my Vietnam tour of duty. It is true and uses a few unpleasent words to Christians, but it is as it happened. As I relate near the end, I could have gone to jail for the things my comrades and I did, but my God has forgiven me once again.
Get it and read it! It has blessed some of the most religious people I know. It is in all the book stotes. Just ask for it by my name or its title.
Feel free to contact me on the web or by phone: 850-863-9715, dukesplace1@earthlink.net

Well it's hard to believe that it has been thirty years since the Class of '74 sang "Be Thou My Vision", traded hugs, shed tears and then set out to change the world...

...but then here we are...the world has indeed changed, the question is what part have we played? It would be great to get everyone together to share the events of the past thirty years with each other but first we need to locate everyone. Becky, do you have a master list? Does anyone have a master list? Should we develop a seperate chat page through something like yahoo groups that would let all of us check in and comunicate in a freeform style without messing up the alumni page that Becky has created here? Let's get the conversation going in ernest...

BTW (computereese for "by the way")...after BL I was on the "ten year" college program...I attended Montreat Anderson Junior College and graduated, then went to University of South Florida in Tampa, UNC-Asheville and finally settled at NC State where I graduated in 1983. I am a licensed Architect, I have designed and built from Florida to New York, I left consulting and joined government and now head up the Department of Code Enforcement for New Hanover County (Wilmington, NC) North Carolina.

I met my wonderful wife, Diana, at Montreat in 1975. We were married in 1978 and we just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. We have 3 children...a son in college at ECU (19), a daughter in HS (15) and a son in Middle School (13).

Well better late than never. I finally did a search on the net after giving up on the BLS site for alumni info. I also just got my yearbooks out of storage where they had been since 1993 when my husband Nick and I left for Bangkok to work for Graco. After BLS, I graduated from ODU (Old Dominion University) with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and a BA in French. I married Nick in 1991. We lived in Bangkok for 3-1/2 years. Our son Gabriel was born in 1995 in Bangkok. After our return to the US, I worked for (TI) Texas Instruments as a Metrology Equipment Engineer in the Kilby Center (wafer fab) and Nick worked for Plasmaquest doing design work for plasma etchers. Since then, Nick joined TI as an Equipment Engineer in DMAT on the DMD (digital micro mirror device - the chip that is in the high definition TV's and digital projectors at the cinemas) (MEMS)working on the die attach/metrology equipment. I stopped working as a engineer and our daughter Viola was born in 2000. Since then, I've been doing lots of quilting and recently got a Nolting longarm quilting machine that takes up the entire dining room.
I'd love to hear from any of the BLS classmates/faculty and if you ever visit the Dallas, TX area call us at (972)664-0293.

Things have been wonderful for me since I have graduated from Ben Lippen. I tried several colleges and finally ended up at AIU in Atlanta, Ga where I studied Interior Design. While there I lived w/ Cat McKoewn (BL Grad)and met my huspand Bob who was in Law school at the time. I graduated in 1998 we moved back to Columbia so I could work in my Dad's architural firm. Bob followed shortly after and we where married in Feb.1999. I am also the proud Mom of Talia Maldonado born of June 2003. I hope all is well and to see everyone at our 10 year reunion this year.

The class of 1984 is planning a reunion for August/September of 2004. We have run into some pricing issues with the people who presently own the property. Crest Properties, is asking for $3,000.00 for using the chalet on a Friday night (four hour), and $8,000.00 for a Saturday. I thought that someone here might be able to help us with negotiating a better price. I am not opposed to paying for our use, but lets be realistic here those prices are really better geared for Bill Gates. If there is someone that can talk to these people on our behalf, we would greatly appreciate it. I thought I read an article in the paper that assigned a certain person we should talk to. They can pretty much count on repeat business with all of the other classes as well.

Our class is communicating through e-mails about this and even catching up on old times as I write this. I hope to find other people who I went to Ben Lippen with by using this guest-book in the future.

Thanks to Tracey Jackman (another island-girl) for linking me to this site and to Becky! It's been wonderful reading all the entries from former (not old!) classmates and seeing what has happened in the past 20 years.

Here's a quick update. Still married to Art, who is now a Captain in the US Coast Guard and working in Washington DC. We only have two children left at home, Christie 14 and Tori 12. Betsy and Katie are both at Bryan College. Andy is an Ensign in the Coast Guard. Erik is a Lieutenant jg and will be getting married in August. I am part of a 'faith based' group of four women that goes to military bases/posts and speaks to wives on marriage, child rearing, and stress. It is a neat ministry and greatly needed during this time of huge deployments. We also have a home with an 'open door' policy...almost every weekend finds us with guests of one sort or another. About 12 midshipmen from the Naval Academy call this home and their families often visit us. We also have a German girl, Alisha, living with us and she has definitely been adopted into the family. Would love to hear from anyone from my one year at BL!

Wow!
What fun I am having reading these posts. I am happy to have been a part of Ben Lippen and all those great people.

Lets see... I briefly attended WCU in 1984. Went back to California and worked in all facets of the construction industry and then became an EMT. After burning out on driving ambulance in Los Angeles I joined the Army. I married and divorced a year later. I spent some time in the desert in Iraq. I briefly left the Army in 1991 and was married again. That union (2nd marriage) lasted a year and a half. I went back into the Army and joined the Airborne Infantry for some real adventure. In 1994 I married again to a wonderful woman, Zinah, and then left the Army in 1996. I moved to Atlanta, Ga. and have been here ever since. I am presently working for a REIT (real estate investment trust) and have a newborn son David Warren Hall Born Sept. 20th, 2003. He looks just like me. I might ask him later if he wants to go off to Boarding school:) In the last couple of years I have spoken with Mark Blowers, but lost contact. IV Whitman, who has come back to Asheville, and Royster Peterson, who lost his father on flight 93. Royster came down for a weekend and we went to a YES concert together (major pink slip).

All is well for me right now as I recover from having my spine fused. So if I show up to the 20th year re-union please don't squeeze me too much.

Our class, 1984, is e-mailing each other like crazy! Let me know if you need an e-mail address.

Oh yeah, Phil Mullins and I are looking for Steve Goulas so let us know if you Ashevillians know of his whereabouts.

Hello! I graduated from BL in 88, and my three years at Ben Lippen were probably the most memorable years of my life. Doing domestics, eating at the Charlette (spell?), socializing after supper, running cross-country under Mr.Harvey, playing the guitar with Mr.White... all are great memories.

I have taught at Ben Lippen for 7 years, and I am in my 8th year teaching English as a Second Language classes. My wife and I are also houseparents (dorm counselors) for guys. We have a 7-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter. Mr.White lives in the same house with the boarding students. It is an honor to be able to serve the Lord here at Ben Lippen, and please pray that Christ will be reflected in my life so that Ben Lippen students can draw closer to God.

I don't know how Becky found my e-mail address, but I'm very glad she did! It was fun to find this site and catch up on a few people from my BL days. Here's a brief synopsis of my life over the past almost 30 years - does that sound scary or what?! After graduation I attended and graduated from South Eastern College of the Assemblies of God in Lakeland, Florida, where my parents had taught for many years. I met and married Ann there and then we went off to Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary outside of Boston. I graduated in 1980 while pastoring a small country church in Connecticut. From there we moved to Bethlehem, PA where I served as an associate pastor at the First Baptist Church until 1984. Since May of 1984 - almost 20 years now - I have served as the pastor of Sawmill Baptist Church in Powell, OH - a suburban community just outside of the capital city of Columbus, OH. The church is small but vibrant and has obviously been a good match for me.

Tragically, my first marriage ended in divorce in 1991 - easily the most difficult time in my life. But two wonderful kids came out of that marriage. I have a daughter, Natasha, who is 23 now. She lives and works in Naples, Florida. I have a son, Ian, who will be 21 this week. He is attending college in Florida. Some years ago the Lord led a wonderful woman, Cheryl, into my life and we're about to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary. She has a daughter, Kelsey, who is 13.

The Lord has been so faithful and good to me despite all the ups and downs of life that all of us experience. I continue to be grateful for those three years at BL. I happened to visit the old campus in June of 1994 and it was a very emotional experience for me. Wandering around the old buildings and grounds... seeing their disrepair... being flooded with memories of happy, meaningful times there... reviewing my own life up until then - it was sort of overwhelming.

In any case, I'd love to hear from any of you. God bless you! Rick Breusch

Though I left Ben Lippen just short of graduation in my senior year, I am one more example of the incredible grace, mercy and love of Jesus Christ. A few more years of rebellion led to a complete brokenness and whole-hearted surrender to the Lord. From that time forward, I have served the Lord in ministry in one way or another. For the last 7 years, it has been full time. I was a missionary in Croatia and attending a missions conference in Austria when I met my husband Scott. He is an associate pastor here at Calvary Chapel of the Fingerlakes and together we serve the Lord in a multitude of ways in our church. Our son Bret is just about to graduate from Bible college and also feels called to the ministry. We have two cats...one of which needs major demonic deliverance...or he may just be a little brain damaged. For anyone out there who knew me, I first ask your forgiveness if my life in any way affected you negatively, and secondly, feel free to contact me because the Lord has certainly made true His Word of making beauty out of ashes and all things becoming new!!

The long and short of it. Went to Mars Hill after finishing there came back to BL and worked there for 6 years got married to Darlene had three kids Zed (24) Nicole (21) and Moriah (18). They all live in Indanapolis now Zed works for a CD manufactuer and Nicole and Moriah are going to IUPUI Nicole is a business major and Moriah wants to be a Vet. Now working at a construction material supplier near the Asheville Airport still officiating both soccer and basketball. See Susan Bishop Strickland alot she still is living in Burnsville a small town about 40 miles north east of Asheville. Some of you might remember my sisters Mary lives in Mendian LA, Barb is in Winston, and Libby is in Meridian MS where she is homeschooling her 11 kids. For those of you who took Bookkeeping from my Dad he is still teaching at Montreat College although he saids this will be his last year. Thanks for this.

So Great! Thanks for this chance to get back to my youth.
My 8th grade class was the 1st one for the school. I remember Mr. Hudson well as well as my other classmates. Yes, disaplain was very strict! We had a special rule when it came to dating on campus or at church. It was known as the six inch rule. It seemed that if we got within six inches of a young lady, we were given hard stares or slight coughs by the faculity. We dared not to ever hold hands with our date where we could be seen. I guess I was scared to death to break any of the rules and for this, I picked up anickname of PLD, Precious Little Danny. But the Freshman year came around and my fears let up and I lost the PLD. Yes, I recall the guys who had the misfortune of getting caught and had to walk that dagblamed log all day. I believe that punishment served to turned the boys against ever returning. It seemed to work.

I have so very great memories of my five years at the Mountain of Trust there just isnt rook for them on this page.If anyone wants to hear more, like the time we cut logs into small stakes and drove them into the hill side egdes of the athletic field to prevent weather corrosion.
Or the big green monster that was the school bus and how we would relieve ourselves out the rear door when the driver was in a hurry to get home and wouldn't stop. Then one time the school was emptied when the guy that was in chargeof the furnace took a leak on the hot clinkers. You never want to know how that stunk. But I do like to think of the much better times I spent visiting Montreat Girls School on Saturdays. I met my wife, Carolyn there. She has now gone home to be with God. I have two fine sonss from our union; Dan Jr, who was born deaf, and Robert who lives in San Diago. But that wasn't meant to be and we went our separate ways.

I served in the military for over 27 years during Korea and Viet Nam. As a matter of fact, I have just written a book on my 20 months tour of duty in that country. It should be on the market by December. I call it THE PUCKER FACTOR. It can be ordered over the web or by phone from 1st Books Library. If anyone needs more info, please contact me.

I have so many memories of Ben Lippen, I cannot just stop with a few. Some of the guys would take the law into their own hands if theyfelt they had been wronged by one or more of their fellow classmen. "Pink Bellies" and 'pants up the flag pole' were just a couple of ways revenge was mteted.

But I have good memories as well! Billy Grahm's visits, thegreat meals I was invited to by local citizens, the few victories our football team had, and the fellowships we had one with another. Ben lippen Boys School will always have a special place in my heart. God Bless Everyone. Daniel

I'm delighted to find this web site. BL made a huge impact on my life during my high school years. Helped me separate from a really dysfunctional pastor's family of origin. Now I've been a practicing clinical psychologist in Fullerton, CA for the past 25 years. My wife, Bethyl Joy, is also a psychologist in our mom and pop psych shop. also work with a group of half dozen more mental health professionals. We've adopted a couple of Russian kids in 1996, age 12 and 6 at the time. Now Olya is a sophomore in college and Dima is an eighth grader. We're active in our local church and have an interesting ministry with lots of international exchange students in and our of our house, staying for a year or so as they attend Cal State Fullerton University, across the street from us. Overall, we're very busy, happy, engaged in trying to bloom where we're planted.
Since BL I've tried to branch out of so many rules that are legalistic in nature. Will hare a favorite quote from an author I love;meanwhile, all for now. Feel free to write:

All the world is one great sacramental loaf. We are not�nor will we ever be, God save us�solitary intelligences spinning in the dark void of space. He crowds upon us from Sheol to the sea; he jostles our thoughts along the pathways in our brains. He hides in the bushes, jumping out in flames to startle us into seeing. He sequesters himself in stables and swaddling so as to take us unawares. He veils himself in flesh, the same flesh that drips into fingers at the end of my arms and sprouts into hair on my head.

Either the world is holy or it�s not. Either the creator�s work is a sign of himself or it�s a sham. Where else can one draw the line between sacred and profane except around all the cosmos? For "profane" meant, originally, outside the temple, and all creation was, in the beginning, a temple for God�s �very good.� Whenever we eat, drink, breathe, see, take anything in by any means, we are commanded to remember the sacrifice. We try to hedge in the holy to pour it into tiny, trivial cups, to make bread as pale and tasteless as possible, like fingernails. We are saying to God: Get away from me. Just so, the desert Israelites implored Moses to keep God on the mountain and not bring him down among their tents. As though our immolation by the holy were not our only hope.

Still we take the big black crayon in our hands and draw these little islands where we will let God live in the world. In the tiny cups and on the unfamiliar silver plates so cold you can see your breath on them. We cover him up with white linen napkins just as they did in the grave. We draw more lines around Bibles and sanctuaries, thus adding a few more islands to this archipelago of the holy, and there you have it. Little concentration camps for Christ. Our incremental piety bristles around the perimeters like barbed wire, hemming him in.

i saw your note and visited the site. Very nice. As you know we just finished attending our 30th reunion 2 weeks ago. it worked out really well to stay at Lake Junaluska and we had a catered lunch at Houston Hall by the new owners of the property. We were able to go into all the old buildings except the girl's dorm,(some things never change)and had the Layman's, Elniff's, Parker's and Ms.Harden with us. She brought old essay papers but they were all from your class.

We had great attendance, 24 out of 42 classmates. they came from England, CA., RI, MA. NJ, Memphis, IN, IL, OH, PA and etc. i was the closest attendee (Greenville SC). I started working to locate my classmates about 9 months prior to the reunion. I mostly used the internet and word of mouth from those that i located. I found all but 3. I contacted all by phone or internet. it was a lot of work but a lot of fun too. Well worth the effort. It was better than I had hoped. So get started on your class.

Attended our 30th class reunion which was held at Lake Junaluska in North Carolina. Cherri Raws, Martha Seiford and David Orders did a fantastic job of getting us together and organizing the weekend. On Saturday we got to eat lunch in Houston Hall, then took pictures and walked around the old Ben Lippen Campus. The girl's dorm is used regularly by the SWAT team for training purposes! Last weekend was fantastic - seeing, hugging and sometimes crying with those who attended from the class of 1973!

Help us put together our 40th anniversary book by sending a bio and recent picture to Nelle. Contact by email and we'll give more details if needed.

Nelle's bio.

After Ben Lippen, I spent a year at Northeastern Collegiate Bible Institute in Essex Fells, NJ; then transferred to CBC for a year. During those years of deepening biblical foundation, I searched for God�s mind regarding a career. Convinced that nursing was not just a �little girl�s dream,� I attended a 3-year diploma school (�65-�68) on Long Island, NY. Thoroughly enjoyed my training; immersed in the art, science and spirit of nursing. Upon graduation, I moved into Manhattan, sharing an apartment with a classmate. During that year, John and I were engaged. When he headed for Viet Nam on the USS America, I decided to back to school and complete my BSN at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
When John returned from Viet Nam we were married 10/17/70. While we were living in Levittown, PA, our first son, John F. was born 3/9/72 and Brad was born 3/8/75. From there we moved to Newport News, VA; Madrid, Spain, and Dayton, OH (where we have been for the last 21 years).
Our oldest son is married and living in Sumter, SC, (45 minutes east of CBC). Brad lives and works in Dayton. No grandchildren yet, but looking forward to God�s blessing with 1 � 12 or so. J
John retired from civil service as an internal auditor with the Air Force. He is now teaching in the computer information systems department at our local community college and loves it.
I am still nursing and have worked at least part-time for all but 2 years since graduating nursing school. I�ve worked in ICU, surgical units, a year as school nurse, but predominantly have specialized in home visitation nursing. My present, and thus far most challenging, position is a home visitation outreach to poverty level moms (mostly single teens) and their first babies. Sometimes I�m more social worker than nurse and relationship builder to encourage these families.
We are active in a Bible church, Patterson Park Church.
These last 40 years have truly been an adventure as I have been learning and stretching and, with my family, still learning and stretching in God�s grace and mercy. Awed by His goodness and sent out by His Word to carry out His mission, and in His strength to share His love. Despite my feeble attempts, He .is faithful to bring about His purposes.
Even though we�re �way beyond� the teen years, I think all will agree BL contributed to our lives, and each in a special way.
I send each of you greetings and hope you each feel free to stay in touch and come by for a visit.
Remembering the Class of �63

I hope someone remembers those of us who joined Ben Lippen during our senior year. I have many wonderful memories of my year there and was curious to know how everyone is doing. I moved back to Guatemala after graduation keeping in touch with Monica Perez and visiting her on occasion. I have since graduated from medical school and I'm currently in my last year of residency in Family Practice at Warren Hospital-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey. I married Soledad, my beautiful wife, in Guatemala and she is currently in her second year of orthodontics in UMDNJ in Newark. As I said I haven't kept in touch with anyone since graduation, but if anyone is in the northeast sometime and would like to write (and you remember who I am!) drop me a note and we'll chat. Take care and the best to all of you.
Jorge.

It has been quite awhile since I left BL. Years ago I returned to the old campus just to walk around, but really felt no interest in going to the current BL campus. (Having never been to Columbia, there was no "going back" involved.) As the years raced by following my graduation and the change in campus location, I was repeatedly asked to come visit by my sister Debbie. (She lives in Columbia and has three kids in BL's elementary, middle and high schools.) This year, my family's life was at a point where we could finally make the trip. (We'd planned to go to the 10th year reunion, but those plans fell apart. That was nearly 5 years ago.) Hoping to see friends from the Class of '83, my family went to Columbia this past weekend. It was a great trip. It was so nice to speak with Dave Mulholland and Gwen Lehman ('82) and Pam Lehman ('85). Unfortunately, I saw no other students that I knew. I learned from Gwen that the classes are doing the 15th year reunions in Asheville around Labor Day weekend.

So, during this past weekend, I decided to write for two reasons. First, I wanted to let my BL friends know what I was doing. Second, I wanted to ask everyone to give the reunion thing a chance.

1. A few years after graduating, I sent to our class newsletter a 'misinformation bulletin' about me living in Australia being a shepherd which was funny, but untrue. Reality is I graduated from BL, then went to Wheaton College outside Chicago and graduated in 1988 (BA History). Went to work with Don Blanton in the insurance industry down in New Orleans for a year, then moved out to Santa Cruz, California and worked for my girlfriend's father. (This girlfriend was Susan Bergstrom. Susan was my girlfriend during my senior year at Wheaton.) Then, after about a year in California, I returned to Hickory where I worked for a year doing two jobs (legal assistant by day, double knit machine operator by night and doing double shifts on Saturdays. During that year, I lived with my parents and tried to save everything to pay for upcoming law school and marriage to Susan on 7/28/90. Got married to Susan, honeymooned in Montana, went to lawschool in Buies Creek NC (Campbell Univ.), graduated and passed the NC Bar in 1993 and began practicing law in Durham NC. For the first 8 years I was representing insureds and their insurance carriers as an insurance defense attorney in Durham and then Wilmington, NC. Then, in 2001, I switched sides and am now representing injured people. I also do some business litigation for business clients in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Research Triangle Park. We have two sons: Quinn is now 4 years old and Charlie is 9 weeks old. After putting me through law school, Susan got her Master's in Physical Therapy from Duke. After Quinn was born, Susan stopped working outside the home. She has her hands full with both boys and is an incredible wife and mother. We're going to a wonderful church in Durham and I'm seriously thinking of sending my sons to a Christian private day school. (Just what we all said we'd never do.)Newsflash --- I've changed. I'm older and somewhat wiser. I'm 50 lbs heavier than when I graduated. I'm out of shape and on 9/2/03 herniated a disc in my low back so that getting back in shape will be very difficult. Thanks to genes, I'm bald as a cue ball. The weight, the absence of hair, presence of glasses and life's curveballs constantly remind me that, while I'm loved by my family and God, I'm not all that important. (My parents' lifelong prayers that I would be patient and humble have not been answered. But I am getting a healthy dose of crow pie and test upon test.) (For all of you who I ever offended, annoyed or was a bother, here are two situations that will bring you a laugh ... at my expense. I spoke at a friend's wedding and Ruth E. Gorman came up afterwards and asked if I was the same Phil Mullins that went to BL. When I said yes, Ruth E's jaw dropped and she said as only Ruth E could, "Oh Phil, you've gotten bald and fat!" Susan and Ruth E hit it off great that night and we talked until the early morning hours. Then, this weekend, I was talking to Gwen Lehman when Pam walked up and said, "Is that you Phil!?!" Pam and I talked again this weekend and she was shocked that I don't play basketball anymore. I think of Ruth E and Pam as friends and hope that they won't mind my sharing these stories.) I'm still not all that talented or smart, but I've turned my focus on my work and my family. (I should probably not focus on work so much, but it's my nature and I really do hate to lose.)

2. I hope to see some of you all at the next BL reunion. It would be great to get together regardless of whether it's in Columbia or Asheville. I want to see everyone, meet their families, hear how they've grown (up, out, etc.), and most importantly, just re-connect. I've outgrown my high school dreams of returning as the superstar professional athlete or multi-millionaire. I also have the sense to know everyone at BL could care less about whether a past class mate is rich or poor, well-educated or not, etc. I think my friends and classmates from BL would just like to visit with me. High school was a long time ago, but it would be nice to connect with my classmates and old friends from BL. I'd like to see everyone, even those I wasn't so nice to. (I was a jerk to far too many for which I can now say I am so very sorry. I'd like to say that in person.) If nothing else, I can promise I'll help you laugh. I know I've learned to laugh at myself and don't take myself as seriously as I used to. I know that everyone cannot make it and some of us that plan to make may not so, I'm asking you to post a message now. I'd love to hear from everyone I knew at BL. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a great 20th year reunion? Regardless if you plan to make the reunion or not, please write in to this listserve and also send me a post privately. Let us know what's going on with you and your family, and give us your contact information. We've lost nearly everyone's contact information so this may be the only chance we'll have to re-connect. I saw a class that was celebrating their 35th or something like that and they didn't know what had happened to about 90% of their class. I hope that won't be our story. Thanks for taking the time to send a post.
If you were a friend of mine who does not want anything to do with BL, I would still like you to write me an e-mail to let me know what you've been doing these past 15 years. Please send me a post privately at mullins@tfmattorneys.com or call me at home 919-419-1363 or work 919-682-5648. Thanks!

Was looking back through the comments here and saw how out of date our entry was.

Karen and I are still in North Muskegon, Michigan, but we are learning what the "empty nest" phase is all about.

Eric is in his third year at USC in Los Angeles. He is majoring in Communications and working at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab while in school.

Jenny and Amy are off for their freshman years in college. Jenny is at Gordon College, a Christian college just outside of Boston. She is majoring in Special Education with (at least planned) and emphasis in Spanish. Amy is at Taylor University in Indiana. She is playing softball, and, at least for now, her major is English Education.

Karen is still doing some substitute teaching locally. She is also very involved with a Christian camp about an hour north of us (on the Board, a volunteer facilitator for their ropes course, climbing wall, etc.). She also heads up a ministry at our local church encouraging prayer for our missionary family.

My title at Gospel Communications is now Director of International Internet Ministries. I am doing a fair bit of travel and having the opportunity to work with national ministry groups in different parts of the world. I am also very involved with the National Religious Broadcasters (on the Board, chairman of the Internet Committee) and with a group called the Internet Evangelism Coalition.

Thanks, Becky, for providing this way to keep up with so many people. Would love to hear from any of you "old-timers". Hard to believe that this fall is the 30th anniversary of that first "official" state championship team in soccer (first only because it was the first year we were allowed in the tournament).

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for this website! Am currently living in Houston, TX with my husband Chris and our boxer, Sonny. Chris is at Rice Univ. finishing up a post-doc, and I'm at Houston Police Dept. working in Narcotics. Please, please, please email me...I'd love to hear from anyone!!